The Legend of Catherine's Shack
by Razorbackgal0225
Summary: They're back! Katie and Lilly are on vacation in Tennesse and stumble upon a mystery for Sam and Dean to investigate. Sequel to The Boys Went Down to Georgia. I live for reviews! Now complete!
1. Prologue

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--Some bad language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: After a couple of weeks of thinking, I've started another one! This is a sequel to my first story, The Boys Went Down to Georgia. While you don't have to read that story to follow this one, it will probably help as far as understanding the original characters are concerned. Please read and review, I'd love to know what you think!

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Prologue: Catherine's Legend 

In 1815, in the backwoods of Tennessee, a young girl fell in love with a boy. The girl lived a log cabin, built by her grandfather, with her parents. Her father was a furniture maker, using the trees from the woods in which the lived to make his product. The boy was training to be a blacksmith, as his father was. The two young people were promised to each other when they were young, leaving no question as to their future. The girl, Catherine, had loved her intended, Lucas, since the first time she saw him. Unfortunately for Catherine, Lucas did not feel the same way. He had fallen in love with another girl, Tabitha, from a few farms over. He was so much in love with the other girl that the two made plans to elope together and leave for the closest town, which was several days ride away. The secret couple would meet in an abandoned shack in the woods an hours walk into the forest.

One day, Catherine's mother sent her out in search of berries. Her hunt took her an hour into the woods, and she stumbled upon a shack. She thought the house was empty, until she heard noises coming from inside. She crept to the dusty window and looked in. Her stomach dropped as she saw Lucas and Tabitha locked in an embrace. Tears filled her eyes as she ran back to her cabin, her heart breaking the whole way.

Because Catherine had loved Lucas for so long and her feelings were so intense, those feelings soon turned to hate. She said nothing of her discovery to anyone and continued to act as if nothing were wrong. Day after day she dwelt on her pain, so it grew. She decided that Lucas and Tabitha deserved to be punished for the hurt they had caused her. She began to carry one of her father's large knives with her when she traveled near the shack, waiting for her chance at revenge.

It came one day. She walked up to the building and heard Lucas and Tabitha talking. As quietly as she could, she entered the shack. Before Tabitha could shout out a warning, Catherine had plunged the knife deep into Lucas's back. Her rage took over, and she stabbed him twice more, then turned her anger towards the screaming girl. Tabitha tried to run, but Catherine was too fast for her. Catherine threw the girl on the floor, next to dying Lucas. Her arm slashed as it cut into Tabitha, blood splattering as she worked. When she was finished, the young lovers were unrecognizable and Catherine was covered in her handiwork. As she came back to herself, she realized what she had done. She had brutally killed the only man she had ever loved and now she had no reason to live. Catherine turned the knife on herself and died next to her victims.

The story of Catherine's rampage spread as much as possible in those days. Her parents were devastated and were treated as outcasts. Year after year, the tale was changed, exaggerated and embellished. Decades past and Catherine was said to have killed ten people, then twenty. Finally only the names and location stayed the same. As time passed, the woods in which the crime was committed became a tourist attraction, deep in the Smokey Mountains and the small group of homes that were affected became Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Even though the woods around were more populated, 'Catherine's Shack' remained, now about a fifteen-minute hike from the nearest road. Kids from neighboring towns occasionally venture out to the building, on a dare, trying to scare their friends. And generally nothing happens. It's a creepy, abandoned shack in the middle of a dimly lit forest; good for a scare and a story to tell visitors. Except for in 1863, 1895, 1959, and 1991. In each of those years, a young couple disappeared in the woods near 'Catherine's Shack' and was found, one murdered and one dead by their own hand, five days later.

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The young man stomped his way further into the woods. He couldn't believe his girlfriend had gotten so upset about something as insignificant as him wanting to watch the baseball game. It's not like they didn't have the place rented for another three days; he could easily catch the sunset the next days. At least, as long as the Yankees weren't playing. He knew storming out of the cabin wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done, but he couldn't take any more of her griping. He continued walking, muttering to himself as he did. 

The young woman stuffed her feet in the nearest pair of sneakers, grabbed a flashlight and raced out of the cabin after him. She knew if she let him get away, he wouldn't come back that night. She hated it when the fought and she knew this one had been her fault. She stepped into the woods, keeping an eye out for him.

The sun slipped behind the mountain and all the light faded quickly from the forest. The woman stumbled over limbs and roots, cursing to herself as she did. If she hadn't gotten so mad at him, this would have never happened. But, as she moved further into the trees, her mood changed to match the growing dark. It wasn't her fault that he all he wanted to do was watch sports, even though this was supposed to be their romantic getaway. She had only suggested that they watch the sunset together, not run off and get married. Her guilt at the fight turned to anger directed at him. She began to walk quicker, hoping to find him and give him a piece of her mind. With every step, her rage increased.

The woods whispered to her as she walked through them. Reminding her of all the things Taylor did that she couldn't stand, like leaving the cap off the toothpaste, not putting his dirty clothes in the laundry basket, looking at other women. "That's right," the voice told her, "remember how he looked at that girl when you checked in. And when you went to dinner last night, how he looked at the waitress. He's probably cheated on you a hundred times." She nodded to herself, agreeing with the voice. She gripped the flashlight even tighter and walked faster.

He finally stopped and turned back towards the cabin. He pushed the light on his watch and was thankful that it also included a compass. No need to actually get lost in the woods because his girlfriend was overreacting. He pulled the flashlight he had grabbed as he left the house from his pocket and flicked it on. The beam shot out, hitting only trees at first. He started back towards the cabin, due north from where he was. He had only taken a few steps when he saw a something standing in the path he had made. His heart leapt into his throat, but then he realized who it was.

"Sandra, hell, you almost scared me to death!" he nearly shouted. He trained the flashlight on his girlfriend, who was standing behind a fallen tree, apparently waiting on him. "I was just heading back in," he explained. He walked in her direction, but then stopped suddenly. Something didn't seem right. Sandra was staring him strangely, her eyes harder than he had ever seen. "Sandra, what's wrong?"

She continued staring at him for a minute before muttering, "Why did you do it?" her voice was lower than normal and didn't sound right to him.

"San, I was just mad that's all, I wasn't actually leaving," he answered. Even though he was talking to the woman he loved, he was becoming slightly apprehensive. "C'mon, let's get back to the cabin." He stepped over the log and headed back up the slight hill. He realized she wasn't following him and turned back to her. "San, you coming?"

"Why did you do it?" she said again, this time louder and filled with rage. "Why did you cheat on me?" she screamed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I've never cheated on you. You're acting crazy!" He reached and grabbed her arm, hoping to lead her back to the cabin. "Let's go." Her eyes finally met his and he immediately dropped her arm. Her eyes flashed gold as she raised the flashlight she was holding. Taylor didn't have a chance to try and run before she hit him with it, as hard as she could. He crumbled to the ground as she asked again,

"Why did you cheat on me?"


	2. Chapter 1

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my first story, The Boys Went Down to Georgia. While you don't have to read that story follow the plot in this one, it will help as far as understanding the original characters are concerned. And yes that is a shameless plug for my first story :-) Please read and hit the little button at the end, I live for reviews!!

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Chapter 1

"_Hey, this is Dean, you know what to do."_

"_Hi Dean, this is Katie Matthews, from Georgia. Lilly's aunt? Anyway, I'm on vacation in Tennessee and there's something going on here that I think might be ya'll's kind of thing. If you have a minute and ya'll aren't working on anything right now, could you give me a call? We'll be here all week so you can call my cell phone. Okay, thanks. Bye."_

Sam Winchester sat at the small, circular table in yet another dingy hotel room. The room looked just exactly like the fifteen they had stayed in before it, all drab colors and musty smells. He was hunched over his laptop, looking for a new hunt for his brother and him. They had recently finished a pretty standard poltergeist job outside Columbia, Missouri and nothing had shown up on the radar nearby. Dean was again driving him crazy, so Sam was getting pretty desperate to find something for them to tackle. The elder Winchester had left twenty minutes ago to get dinner for the two. Sam was enjoying the relative peace and quiet, with the exception of Dean's phone ringing.

A knock at the door announced his brother's return. Out of habit, Sam reached over and placed his hand on the pistol lying next to his computer, ready if it wasn't Dean. When the door swung open revealing him, Sam relaxed. In their line of business, he could never be too careful.

Dean tossed a greasy bag of food to the table. Or it might have been at Sam. Either way, Sam opened the bag and removed the hamburger and fries that was a Winchester family staple. He sighed heavily, wishing just once, his brother would bring back something green to eat.

"What?" Dean asked from his bed, around a mouthful of food, knowing the sigh meant Sam wanted to say something. Probably something girly. "Yours not warm?"

Sam shook his head as he sampled the fries. "No, I'm just a little tired."

Dean snorted. "You're a little cranky, too, Sammy. You might want to take a nap and get rid of some of that."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm not cranky, Dean, and I'm not a two-year-old so I don't need a nap. I'm tired because I've been cooped up in this crappy motel room with an annoying you for the last two days." He took a bite of his burger, ignoring the nickname for the time being. "Oh, by the way, your phone rang while you were gone," he said, gesturing with his free hand.

"Why didn't you answer it?" Dean asked, rising from the bed and walking to his phone. He picked it up as he finished his last couple of bites. Sam hoped he had actually chewed the food this time.

"Because," Sam answered snarkily, "the last time I answered your phone, I was propositioned by some girl named Trixie before she realized she was talking to the wrong guy. Then I was propositioned again when she found out you had a brother." Sam ate a few more fries. "Again, the typical class act you seem to go for."

"Ahh, Trixie," Dean repeated, his expression somewhere between wistful and smug. "You know," he started, grinning to himself as he did, "she could do this thing with her tongue and an ice cube…" he stopped when he saw the look of horror on Sam's face. "I guess you had to be there."

"Yeah, I'm kinda glad I wasn't," Sam answered, slightly disgusted. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Dean dialed into his voicemail.

Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing when he listened to the message. Katie had called him. He had talked to her a couple of times since leaving Georgia, when he had made his promised calls to Lilly. He hadn't placed them very regularly though, and it had been weeks since he had talked to either girl. For a few seconds, he let the sound of her soft Southern accent wash over him. He didn't realize how much he had missed her, more accurately, how much he had refused to let himself miss her. He had tried to convince himself that Katie had been just another girl he had met while they were working, and had succeeded to an extent. During the day, he made sure his mind was on watching out for Sam, kicking something evil's ass, or hitting on any girl that wasn't brown-haired or Southern. Nights were a different story.

Sam was surprised by his brother's reaction to the message that had been left for him. At first, Dean appeared surprised, then happy, then a little worried. He waited until Dean had hung up his phone before asking, "Who was it?"

Dean stood still, staring at the phone for a moment before responding. "It was Katie." He shook his head, as if to clear his mind, then began dialing.

"Is she alright? Is Lilly okay?" Sam tensed in his chair, prepared to leave if something was wrong.

"I think they're fine," Dean answered. "They're in Tennessee and Katie thinks she's found a ghost." He waited patiently for the call to go through.

Kaitlin Matthews was standing on the deck of the cabin her brother-in-law and sister had rented for the week, gazing over the beautiful scenery. Even though it was as hot as hell in August in Tennessee, it certainly was gorgeous. She smiled to herself as she watched a lazy bird fly over the Smokey Mountains and listened to the giggling going on beside her. She turned her attention back to her lively niece.

Lilly Prescott was having a ball. She splashed more water from the hot tub onto her dad, who was reclining in the chaise lounge next to her. He pretended to be upset and made a show of wiping the water from his swim trunks. She continued laughing as he then dramatically melted into the chair, just like the witch from the Wizard of Oz. He even added the signature "I'm melting! I'm melting!" She heard her aunt laugh as well.

Katie jumped slightly when her cell phone rang from the deck railing. She had made a call about half an hour ago, but she wasn't expecting an answer this fast. She read the caller ID and couldn't hide her smile. Lilly caught her grin and she squealed, "It's Mr. Dean!"

Her voice still held her smile as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey," the rough, masculine greeting sent unnecessary shivers down her spine. "I got your message."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to call back so soon. I thought you might be gunning down a ghost or saving another damsel in distress," she replied. Much to Lilly's dismay, she started to walk away from the hot tub and eventually rounded the corner of the house.

Dean chuckled. "If only. I was getting dinner for my whiny brother. I'm guessing everyone's alright; you're message didn't sound like you were in danger."

Katie ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. She had been a little nervous about calling Dean with her theory, considering she wasn't anywhere near an expert on these situations. Just because she had encountered one ghost didn't mean she would recognize another one. So she had called the only people she knew that would.

"No, we're fine. But there are a couple of people missing here and I think it might be a ghost or something that's doing it. And you and Sam are the only ghost-busters I know."

"And here I thought you just wanted to hear my voice."

At this comment, Katie laughed out loud. "I see you still have that self-esteem problem," she kidded affectionately. Then she saw movement in the woods below the cabin, and it reminded her of the reason for her call. She had been watching the progress of the search and rescue team all day long. She grew somber knowing that two people were missing. "We're in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on vacation," she began.

Dean could tell by her tone that making a sarcastic comment about their destination choice wouldn't be a smart idea right now. He uncharacteristically refrained and asked, "We?"

"Lilly, Amanda, Alex and I. It's a family trip. Anyway, when we checked in yesterday, we were told that a couple had gone missing from their cabin the night before. They've been searching for them for about a day and a half now and have come up with nothing. Not a trace of them at all. It's like they disappeared into thin air."

Sam watched his brother listen to Katie, a confused look on his face. "Hey, Kate, wait just a second, I'm going to put you on speaker so Sam can hear this too, alright?" He waited a minute, then pushed the appropriate button. As he did, he filled Sam in. "They're in Pigeon Forge and there's a couple missing."

"Hi Sam," Katie said.

"Hey Katie, how are you?" Sam asked politely.

"I'm fine. I was just telling Dean about what's going on. Can you both hear me?"

"Loud and clear darlin'" Dean replied. "Go ahead."

Katie launched into her story. "Lilly, Amanda and I went into town earlier today and I heard a rumor. This isn't the first couple to turn up missing around here. This happened in 1991 as well. That couple was found dead in what's referred to as Catherine's Shack."

As Katie relayed her news, Sam was typing in the important terms on his laptop to search for the story. Sure enough, he found a headline 'Couple Found Dead in Local Haunted House.' She continued.

"The legend goes that way back in the 1800's this Catherine stabbed her fiancée and his secret girlfriend in this shack, maybe even some other people. After she killed them, she killed herself. It's supposed to be her ghost that causes these people to disappear, then reappear dead a few days later. The locals here seem to really believe the story and are pretty freaked out over this latest incident."

Sam and Dean were both skimming the news article as she talked. "The story we found says this happened in 1959 as well," Sam added. "Did you hear anything about that?"

Katie nodded, even though they couldn't see her. "Yes and according to the woman we were talking to, it's happened a couple times before that. Always the same MO, the woman stabs the man, then stabs herself. It just seemed too much of a coincidence for all those women to go crazy in the same place, and kill a guy the same way, you know?"

"Sounds that way," Dean agreed. "Anything else?"

"The story has been around for ages, so I don't know how accurate it is. I don't know, it might be nothing at all, but I got creeped out when the woman was telling it to me. So did Amanda, so much so that she made Lilly leave in the middle of it."

In their motel room, Sam and Dean exchanged glances. Sam raised his eyebrows and gestured towards the screen; Dean shrugged his shoulders in response. "We've looked into less," Sam commented, "and we haven't found anything else around here."

"So you'll come?" Katie wanted to kick herself when she realized how anxious she sounded. She had fully convinced herself that the only reason she was calling was because she honestly thought this was a ghost, not because she missed anyone. "I mean, do you think you'll be able to make it?" she asked, more nonchalantly this time.

Sam waited patiently for his brother to make the decision. Dean did. "Have you got room for us, or do we need to find a place to stay when we get there?"

Katie's smile could have lit up the whole town. "We've got room. This place is huge. There's even a foosball table upstairs in the game room."

"Foosball? Why didn't you say so? I'll drive all night for that," Dean answered, picking the phone up from the table and switching off the speakerphone. "We'll be there sometime tomorrow."

"Alright. I think there will be an extremely happy girl here waiting on you," Katie had walked back into view of the hot tub. She made eye contact with Lilly and gave a thumbs up, causing Lilly to squeal and splash even more water on her dad.

"Tell the munchkin I said hi," Dean replied, looking forward to the job even more. "And that she'd better be ready for another music lesson when I get there."

Katie laughed. "I'll tell her. Once you get to Pigeon Forge, call and I'll give you directions to the cabin."

"Gotcha, see you tomorrow." With that, he disconnected the call. He turned to face Sam, who was grinning at him. "What?"

Sam's smile didn't lessen a bit as he commented, "We're only going because of the job, right? Doesn't have anything to do with a little girl? Or her aunt, right?"

Dean rolled his eyes in response. "Shut up and research, geek boy. We'll leave early in the morning."

"Just a job," Sam repeated. The pillow hit him in the head as he continued, "Just a job."


	3. Chapter 2

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: Just a reminder, this story will probably make more sense if you read my first story, The Boys Went Down to Georgia. And I apologize for both the length and content of this chapter. I'm suffering from serious writer's block, but I felt I had to post something. Hopefully this block will go away in the next couple of days and I'll do better next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me, and as always, please review )

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Chapter 2

"Lillian Marie Prescott, you'd better have that room cleaned the next five minutes, or you're not going to the pool tomorrow!" Amanda Prescott shouted up the stairs to her daughter. "We're about to have company!" Amanda was tidying up the living room, wanting to make a good impression for her sister's guests. This visit seemed to be extremely important to Katie, so Amanda was helping. Alex was outside, firing up the grill, and Sam and Dean were expected any moment. Katie jogged down the stairs, and smiled sheepishly at Amanda. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she blinked twice and didn't. Amanda knew what that meant. Her sister was so predictable. "What?" she asked.

Katie blinked again before answering, "What what?"

"Don't pull that with me," Amanda admonished her younger sister, "you were going to say something and then you didn't. What was it? It didn't have anything to do with our guests, did it?"

Katie frowned. She didn't appreciate when her sister read her mind. "Nothing, really. I was just going to ask how I looked."

Amanda grinned. It had been so long since her sister had shows interest in any guy, she was happy to see this. She gave her Katie an appraising look, noting the recently curled brown hair, the lip-gloss touch-up, and the light scent of perfume that had accompanied her into the room. "You look good, Lyn," she answered, using her sister's nickname from when they were younger. She glanced at the Capri jeans and green t-shirt that Katie was wearing. "And you don't look like you're trying too hard." This brought a smile to Katie's face.

The roar of a classic car interrupted the sisters' moment. Alex walked in through the patio door at the same time. He whistled and winked at Katie. "Wow, Katie, you trying to catch a man or something?" He received matching looks from Katie and Amanda, one that showed neither girl was happy with his comment. As they headed to the front door, Alex asked defensively, "What did I say? I just meant she looked good!"

Katie opened the door and walked out on the porch. She recognized the black Impala that had pulled into the driveway. She was quickly joined on the landing by a little brown-haired girl who was bouncing up and down joyfully. "They're here, they're here!" Lilly squealed. As soon as Sam got out of the passenger side door, Lilly tore down the remaining stairs.

"Mr. Sam!" she shouted as she ran up to him. Sam bent down, enveloping her in a hug.

"Hey Lilly, how are you sweetheart?" he asked, patting the girl on the back as he did. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him in return.

"I'm fine, I'm so glad you're here," she said, giving him another squeeze, before wiggling in his arms. Sam knew what she wanted. He gave her pigtail a tug and let her go.

Dean stepped out of the car and was immediately hit by a whirl of 10-year-old girl. He laughed and ruffled her hair. "Hey munchkin, did you miss me?" He picked Lilly up and swung her around. She giggled loudly before answering,

"Of course I missed you Mr. Dean! I have so much to tell you. Daddy's been teaching more songs, you'll be so proud of me!" She impulsively planted a wet kiss on his cheek and whispered in his ear. "I think Aunt Katie's missed you too."

Dean tickled the chattering little girl in his arms, causing her to burst into laughter. He felt the that yearning sensation he had been avoiding since the job in Georgia start up again the sound of Lilly's laughter. The feeling increased as he walked around the front of the car, still carrying Lilly, and faced her aunt.

Katie had counted to ten before she started down the remaining steps to the new arrivals. Not wanting to seem overly excited, she tried to give the impression of not being overjoyed to see the boys. She had a feeling she was about to fail miserable. She saw the younger Winchester first. He looked the same, all long arms and legs, his hair a little shaggy. "Hey Sam," she said. Not sure what the protocol was when seeing someone who saved your life three months ago, she took a hesitant step towards him. His brown eyes twinkled at her as he grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, Katie, it's good to see you," he said to the top of her head. Just like with Jacob, being around Sam relaxed her for the first time since she had heard the story in town. For some reason, Sam had a definite calming effect on her nerves. Resting for a minute in his strong embrace, she finally stepped away. And turned to face Dean. The guy she couldn't forget.

On particularly slow days in the flower shop, Katie would imagine how and why she and Dean would meet again. She had to admit, calling him about another ghost while on vacation had never entered her mind. She was nervous regarding that situation; afraid she had called them for no good reason. She had also been worried that the events that took place the last time they had met had caused her to exaggerate the attraction she felt for Dean. She had been wrong. He still caused her stomach to flip and her heart to race.

'Do I hug him, do I not hug him?' she asked herself as Dean put Lilly down on the ground. It had been so much easier talking to him on the phone where she couldn't see him. Now she was facing him and was at a loss for words. He was as handsome as she remembered and she wasn't sure how to act. Remembering that he wasn't exactly the touchy-feely type, she decided against the hug. Instead, she put on her best smile. "Hi Dean, thanks for coming."

Lilly was still clutching Dean's hand, which took away having to decide whether to hug Katie or not. Sam had, without a problem, the bastard. He wasn't even sure she would want to greet him that way, so he used Lilly as a shield. "No problem, Katie. We weren't doing anything except getting on each other's nerves anyway," he answered, throwing her that lady-killer grin.

Amanda and Alex watched the scene from the porch. Alex leaned over to his wife and asked quietly, "Okay, it's Dean that we're watching, right?" When Amanda nodded, Alex returned to his observation. He had been given an assignment by Amanda, to determine if there was anything between Katie and Dean. Amanda tended to worry about her little sister, especially when it came to men and she wanted to make sure that Katie wasn't going to be hurt. Alex had been unwillingly dragged into her plan to watch the two interact while the Winchesters were in Tennessee investigating. He had been hesitant, wondering if he could help at all. He was a guy after all; he didn't pay attention to that sort of thing.

But after seeing Katie and Dean's near non-existent greeting of each other, Alex had his answer. As he headed down the steps, he passed by his wife and said, "Oh yeah, there's something there." He hit the bottom step with his hand outstretched. "Sam, it's good to see you again." The younger brother shook his offered hand and waved at Amanda. Dean gave Alex a friendly nod as Lilly pulled him to the stairs.

"Come in, come in, you can see Belle, we brought her!" the little girl exclaimed, leading him into the house. "And Daddy's making his famous chicken!" The two disappeared through the front door.

"Thanks for letting us stay with you. Again," Sam said to Katie as they followed Lilly and Dean into the cabin.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'm just glad ya'll came. Of course I'm going to feel bad if this turns out to be nothing," Katie answered. Amanda and Alex trailed in behind them.

Sam shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We'll talk about it over dinner, how's that sound?"

Katie smiled. "You got it. Alex's chicken is really good." They joined Lilly and Dean in the kitchen.

"Home cooking, my favorite," Dean added. "First dinner, then you can tell us about this new ghost."


	4. Chapter 3

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: I seem to have recovered from my writer's block to some extent, so this chapter is longer than the last. Hopefully, I can keep it up. Again, as a shameless plug, some of the events mentioned in this chapter happened in my first story, The Boys Went Down to Georgia. Please if you like or hate it, let me know by hitting that little button at the end. Thanks for reading!

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Chapter 3

"This is great, Alex," Sam commented after finishing his second piece of chicken. He wiped his mouth before continuing. "Thanks for making enough for us."

The cook shrugged in response. "No problem. It's the least I could do after everything ya'll did for us. We still can't thank you enough for your help with the whole Myers situation." Amanda nodded her head in agreement. "After all, you did save Katie's life."

"Speaking of Myers," Dean added, "is he going to trial?" Amanda glanced at Katie, waiting for her sister to answer.

"No," she replied, happiness evident in her voice. "He made a plea bargain agreement, so there was no need for a trial. It turned out better that way. I didn't have to testify and the cops didn't have to try and track ya'll down to go over your statements." She took a drink, then finished. "He'll be in jail for a long time, thank goodness."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. They were both glad the situation had resolved itself, neither one of them had looked forward to explaining their presence in Commerce at the time of Katie's abduction. Sam decided to turn the discussion to the reason they were there. "Have you heard anything on the missing couple?"

Before anyone could answer that question, Amanda addressed her daughter. "Lilly, since you're finished with supper, why don't you go upstairs and watch a movie?" Lilly frowned slightly at her mother's suggestion and didn't move right away. When Amanda raised an eyebrow and gave her the 'mom' look, she scooted her chair back and got up from the table. Alex reached out and grabbed her around the waist before she left the room. Lilly giggled as her father tickled her.

"You know how us grown-ups are Lil, sometimes we have to talk about stuff you don't need to hear," Alex explained.

Lilly nodded solemnly. "I know, Daddy, I'll go upstairs." She bounced over to Dean, who pulled on her pigtail. "We can have a music lesson later, Mr. Dean?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure thing, munchkin, after we're done talking to your parents. How's that sound?" Lilly squealed, clapping her hands as she skipped to the stairs.

The five adults watched until Lilly had disappeared up the stairs completely. Then Dean repeated Sam's question. "Any news at all?"

Alex shook his head. "None at all. The police have decided they disappeared Friday night, the night before we got here. The door to their cabin was left wide-open, cell phones still on the counter in the dining room. Nothing was missing, no money taken or credit cards, so the cops don't suspect foul play. It honestly looks is as they walked out of the cabin into the woods and never came back."

Amanda commented, "Unfortunately there's been no sign of them in the woods, other than a flashlight they found the first day. They've had a search and rescue team out for the last two days and have turned up nothing else. So this will be day three of them missing."

"Have they searched that cabin, the one that's supposed to be haunted?" Dean asked.

"Twice," Katie answered. "At least according to our source of information."

"Better known as the guy at the front desk who keeps flirting with Katie. He's told her everything she asked just so she'll stay there and talk to him," Alex said, laughter in his voice. Amanda smiled as well, but Katie rolled her eyes.

"Oh please," she muttered, "he's just a talkative kid."

"Either way," Amanda interrupted, knowing her sister didn't want this conversation happening right now and sensing one of their guests tense up at the mention of another guy, "that's how we're keeping tabs on what's going on. And then the people in town have been extremely helpful when it comes to the ghost story."

Sam pulled out his notebook, where he had recorded his research from the night before. "I dug up some other information last night; I wanted to make sure that it matches what you've been told." He flipped a couple of pages and then began. "The supposed ghost's name is Catherine Rawlings. She was sixteen when she found out her fiancé, Lucas Williams, was having an affair with a local girl. She found them one day in what is now known as Catherine's Shack. This is where the story gets sketchy." He turned another page. "The websites I found with this story all have variations."

Katie nodded. "The woman we talked to in one of the shops told us the same thing, without the last names. She said there's approximately twenty different versions of the story and now, no one really knows what happened." She paused a minute, trying to remember exactly what they had been told the day before. "She said the most popular account is that Catherine found Lucas and his girlfriend, but didn't kill them right away. She waited until a few days later, found them in the shack again, and that's when she killed them. It wasn't so much a crime of passion as it was cold-blooded murder. Which I personally don't understand why she would then kill herself, but whatever, I'm also not crazy," she finished.

Sam was following along in his notes, making a couple more as she talked. Dean would have smacked him in the head if Amanda and Alex hadn't been watching. He couldn't believe Sam was being such a geek in front of people; taking notes while Katie was talking. Like he wasn't going to remember what was said. There were times he couldn't believe he and Sam were related, and this was definitely one of those times.

College boy spoke up, "I found that same story a couple of times as well. Catherine lived with her parents, about three miles from the shack, right?"

Alex answered, "From what we can tell, yes. They have a map down at the front office that shows all the old buildings that are around and Catherine's parents house is supposedly one of them. It's about a forty-five minute hike from here. The shack is about a mile. Like I said, they've searched all the outlying buildings more than once and no sign of the couple."

"Their names are Taylor Marks and Sandra Simmons," Katie added quietly. Her memory of being kidnapped was very clear and she prayed with all her might that nothing like was happening to these people. "They were here celebrating their two year anniversary." When she saw the puzzled look Dean gave her, she simply shrugged, "Kid at the front desk is very talkative."

Dean heard the sadness in her response. He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "If there's a ghost involved here, we'll figure it out and get rid of it." The smile Katie gave him was worth his uncharacteristic physical contact. "Now, both Sam and you had mentioned couples have gone missing before," he said, wanting more information.

"We've heard about two for sure," Alex said. "One in 1991 and another in 1959. There's no known connection between the people, just that they were serious couples, who disappeared from somewhere nearby, never the same place. Then a few days later, they show up dead in Catherine's shack, seemingly from a murder-suicide."

Sam read from his notebook, "I found something mentioning the same thing in 1895 as well, but that's as far back as I could go online. There might be others."

"Do you think they're all related?" Amanda asked.

Sam and Dean made eye contact and Dean answered, "It's a little early to say for sure, but it sounds like it. I can't imagine these women all going wacko in the same spot and committing the same crime every time. That's a little too much of a coincidence for me."

Katie spoke again, "That's what we thought and why I called you. We didn't know what else to do and the police don't seem to be considering the whole ghost angle."

"That's not surprising," Sam said. "I'm sure they don't think it's real."

"Well, the people in town are pretty freaked out. Most of them have lived here all their lives and remember when this has happened before," Alex added. "So, what do you think?"

Dean ran a hand through his short brown hair, and sighed out loud. "First thing tomorrow, we should check out Catherine's shack, see if anything pops up on the radar. Then we can go into town, see if we can find out more about Catherine, where she's buried, that sort of thing." He took the last drink of his beer and leaned back in his chair. "If it's her, we'll have to salt and burn her bones." At this statement, Katie frowned a little. "It's the best way to get rid of a spirit," he explained.

"Tomorrow morning, we can go down to the front office and get a copy of that map, so we'll know exactly where the shack is," Alex offered. His suggestion was met with a negative answer.

"Not we," Dean said, "Sam and me will go, but you three will stay here." This idea caused each of the family to start to protest. "Now, listen," Dean stated firmly, "we know what we are doing. If we find we need help, we'll let you know." He caught the doubting look on Katie's face. "Don't give me that look Katie, the last time you helped…"

"I know, I know," she cut him off, "it didn't turn out the best." She gave a resigned sigh. "Well, if we're done swapping campfire stories, I'm gonna get Lilly," she rose from the table, rather abruptly, and went upstairs.

Amanda noticed the odd expression Dean had as he watched Katie leave the room. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, trying to decide whether or not to reveal what she knew. She decided he deserved to know. "She doesn't really like to talk about what happened with Myers," she said quietly, making sure only Sam and Dean would hear her comment. "She had some trouble getting over it. Afraid to be left alone, nightmares, that sort of thing. She's over most of it, but she thinks it helps if she doesn't talk about it."

Sam grimaced, realizing he hadn't considered what Katie would have endured emotionally after being kidnapped. He and Dean were placed in danger so often in their line of work that he forgot most people didn't have to deal with that. "We won't mention it again," he promised. Dean added his assurance.

As they finished the conversation, Lilly bounded back down the stairs. Dean grinned at the little girl as she ran over to him. "Are ya'll done talking about stuff I'm not supposed to know about?" she asked politely. The grown-ups laughed, even Katie as she came up behind her.

"Yeah, munchkin, we're done," he answered. He would have said more, but the doorbell stopped him. He threw a curious glance around the table, wondering who would be calling on them. Katie didn't seem surprised.

"I'm sure it's Sophie and her parents," she said to Lilly. "Why don't you get the door?" Lilly took off, happy to oblige.

When she saw the surprise on their guests' faces, Amanda clarified. "My best friend from college and her family are staying in the cabin next door. Her daughter Sophie and Lilly are about the same age." As she said this, Lilly walked back into the dining room, followed by another little girl, with reddish blonde hair and an attractive couple. The woman was holding a small boy, who looked to be about two. The boy started pumping his legs and waving his arms when he saw Katie.

"T, T, T," he chanted happily. Katie laughed and took the boy from the woman. His mother grinned and gave him up readily.

"Hey Jack, how are you doing buddy?" she asked. He wrapped his chubby little arms around her neck and gave her a hug. "Oh, that's good stuff, that's the best hug I've had all day!"

"Hi," a soft voice said from beside Sam. He jumped a little in shock; he had been watching Katie and hadn't noticed the new little girl had crept up to his side. "Who are you?"

"Sophie!" the unknown woman exclaimed, "You know better than that!" She apologized quickly, "I'm so sorry. She hasn't exactly mastered the whole polite conversation thing."

Sam smiled at the mother, then at her daughter. "That's alright. Neither has my brother." This comment drew a derisive snort from Dean. "Hi, my name's Sam," he held out his hand to the girl. She gladly took it.

"I'm Sophie. And that's my mom and dad and little brother Jack," she said sweetly, pointing at her family.

"Oh, sorry," Katie added sheepishly, "this is Jodie and Jason Batchelor. Jodie and Amanda were roommates in college."

"Wow, thanks for dating me, Lyn," Jodie said. "Now I sound as ancient as Manda."

"Hey woman, you're older than me, if you'll remember!" Amanda cried defensively.

"And," Katie continued, emphasizing her words to be sure everyone was listening, "this is Dean and Sam Winchester, friends of mine. They were in the area and decided to stop by. And this is Jackson, the best little boy in the world." She placed a loud kiss on the boy's cheek, who laughed when she did.

Jason stepped forwarded and shook Dean's, then Sam's hand. "Nice to meet ya'll." He was soft-spoken, quite the opposite of his wife, who was still bickering with Amanda. Dean laughed to himself; this must be what normal is like, he thought. He tried to avoid staring at Katie, holding the baby. It hurt a little bit to see her interact with her family, knowing that he would never be a part of this or any family, besides Sam. He shook his head slightly, clearing the depressing thoughts from his mind. His attention was drawn to Sam, who was still conversing with Sophie.

"You're very handthsome," she said, shyly with a small lisp. Dean chuckled. It looked like Sam had an admirer.

"Well thank you Sophie. You're a very pretty girl," Sam answered. Sophie blushed slightly and giggled, rocking on her feet.

"We didn't mean to interrupt your dinner," Jason said, attempting to round up his clan. "We stopped by to see if Lilly wanted to go the pool with us tomorrow." Lilly and Sophie both looked expectantly at Amanda, waiting on her answer.

"As long as her room is clean by the time she goes to bed, that's fine with me," her mother answered. Both girls squealed and bounced up and down together. Dean jumped at the high- pitched sound, forgetting how loud little girls could be. When they calmed down, Jodie added,

"We'll be by around 9 tomorrow morning then. I'll bring some snacks for the kids, so you don't have to worry about sending money, Manda."

"Bye Sophie," Sam said as the girl began to follow her parents to the front door. She waved at him and ran off to join her family. Katie walked them to the door, still holding Jack.

Jason took Sophie's hand and led her out on the porch. "Bye Sophie, see you tomorrow," Lilly shouted before running back to the table. Katie handed the little boy back to his mother, who said,

"Okay, you didn't tell me you had Abercrombie models coming to visit. I would have dressed up more if I knew." She glanced down at her jeans and t-shirt, then asked, "How do you know them and why haven't heard of them?"

Katie looked over her shoulder, making sure she hadn't been followed. "It's a very long, complicated and unbelievable story, Jodie, one I'll have to tell you another time. Thanks for taking Lilly tomorrow."

"It's no problem, she's a sweetie. And Lyn," Jodie was one of the few people who used Katie's childhood nickname, "any story that ends with those two staying at your place is a good story." She shifted her son to her other hip and walked down the stairs. Katie waved at the Batchelors as they walked back to their cabin.

"Lyn?" she heard from behind her. She spun around to face Dean, who was grinning. "What's that about?"

She walked by him, hiding the deep breath she took as she did. He smelled so good, exactly as she had remembered. She didn't think it was cologne, just Dean. He smelled of leather, a hint of danger and something that was just undeniably Dean. Maybe having him in such close proximity wasn't a good idea, at least not for her hormone's sake. Then she remembered he had asked a question.

"I've known Jodie since I was a kid, and she still calls me Lyn." She noticed the puzzled frown on his face and added, "My full name is Kaitlin."

"Well, Kaitlin," he drawled her name, "I think it's time you showed me this alleged foosball table." Dean felt a little bad having brought bad memories to the surface, with their mention of Myers, and he wanted to make sure she was back to her cheerful self.

"You don't want to do that," Alex shouted from the dining room. "She's a shark when it comes to foosball."

Dean's playful grin showed what he thought of that. "Oh really? How bout we put some money on it?"

Katie shrugged in response, hoping she disguised the effect his smile had on her. "If you want. I mean, I hate to take your money from you since you're here working, but if you insist." She gestured up the stairs. He walked to her, held out his hand and said,

"$10 a game?"

Katie blinked twice before saying, "You're on," taking his offered hand. The contact was brief, but electric. Enough to cause Katie's heart to pound. Grasping for some sort of distraction from her attraction to him, she called into the other room as she headed up the stairs, "Hey, Lilly, you might want to come up to the game room. I can show you how to beat a guy and still be sweet about it."

The sound of little feet running behind him told Dean they would be joined by an audience. And even more people it seemed, as he heard Sam say, "Oh, this I gotta see."


	5. Chapter 4

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: This is a short little update, before I dive into the mystery. I hope it's not too mushy or out of character. Please if you like or hate it, let me know by hitting that little button at the end. Thanks for reading!

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Chapter 4 

Dean woke in the middle of the night, dying of thirst. The chicken Alex had cooked on the grill had been spicy enough he had drunk five glasses of tea before bed and now was thirsty again. He moved quietly down the hall, passing Sam's bed. He paused at the door, waiting to hear his brother's breathing. When he heard it was calm and slow, he knew Sam was sleeping soundly, without nightmares or visions interrupting. Although, with the way his traitor brother had acted that night, it would serve the brat right if he threw ice cold water on him.

Sam had made no bones about rooting for Katie during her and Dean's foosball tournament. Not that she had needed it. Alex had been right, the girl was a complete shark when it came to those little football players. She had won five games easy, and fifty of his hard-earned dollars, without even breaking a sweat. It had been years since Dean hadn't been able to beat someone at a game of skill, but that brown haired girl that came up to his shoulders had done it with one hand tied behind her back. Or maybe her hand had been covering her mouth to hide the laughter. Cause she had most certainly laughed at him the whole time. And that had been worth it. She did have a nice laugh.

He crept down the stairs, his bare feet making hardly any noise on the wood steps as he went. He approached the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the cabinet and opened the refrigerator. Filling his glass with more tea, he prepared to go back up to bed, when he noticed the flickering light of a television coming from the bedroom down the hall. Knowing it was Katie's room, he walked to the open door.

She was lounging on the bed, feet at the head of the bed and chin propped on two pillows. Her back was to the door, so she didn't see or hear Dean enter. He took the opportunity to observe her. She was lying on her stomach, legs stretched out behind her, engrossed in whatever she was watching. Dean bit back a groan at the sight of the seemingly miles and miles of tan legs beneath the cut off shorts she was wearing. How a girl could have legs that long was a mystery to him. One that he would love to investigate, if circumstances were different. Determined to knock himself out of his reverie, he said softly, so he didn't startle her, "Hey."

Katie jerked a little in surprise, then turned to face him. It just kept getting worse. She was make-up free and was wearing glasses. She looked great, the kind of adorable that Dean would love to wake up to every morning, if given the chance. She blinked her eyes, which were a deeper brown behind her glasses, then smiled sleepily. "Hey yourself. What are you doing up?"

Dean shrugged, drawing Katie's attention to his wide shoulders. She stopped the sigh in her mind from becoming vocal and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. "Well, my ego needed some comforting after the beating it took and I needed something to drink. I saw the TV from the kitchen. Why aren't you asleep?" he asked, glancing pointedly at the clock. It was 3:30 in the morning, after all.

A look of fear crossed her face, but was gone in an instant. She blinked a couple of times then answered. "I guess I just wasn't tired."

"Liar," he accused her. Her mouth fell open in shock, surprised that he had called her out so blatantly. Before she could defend herself, he said, "Nightmares?" He sat down on the bed next to her.

She twisted around towards the television again. Katie absolutely hated admitting an emotional weakness to anyone and if she answered honestly, she would be. She would rather not be facing him when she did. "Not very often," she replied, her voice soft. Her response was so quiet, Dean had to move closer to hear everything she said. "They were pretty bad, right after the whole Myers fiasco, but now it's just every once and awhile." She felt the bed shift more and saw out to the corner of her that Dean was now lying next to her, his pose mirroring hers. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, "I think everything going on here just stirred it up again."

Dean nodded. "Could be. Sam and I being around might not be helping any either, you know, stirring up memories and all that." At this, she shook her head, obviously disagreeing with him. "You don't think so?"

"No," she answered, "I had one last night too. I hoped ya'll being here would help, but it didn't."

"What made you think that?"

This time it was Katie's turn to shrug. "You saved me then. It only makes sense that I would feel safer with you around."

Dean was silent for a moment. Katie was trying to think of a comment to make that would change the subject, when he said, "Do you want to talk about it?" This statement was rather forced and a little gruff, as if he didn't really want to say it. The absurdity of the situation hit Katie, and she chuckled. "What's so funny?" he asked, sounding offended.

"Everything," she said between giggles. "Us, laying here on the bed, watching re-runs while you ask me about my dreams about the psycho child-killer who kidnapped me. It's just a little surreal." She turned her head slightly to face him. "And you didn't exactly sound like you wanted to talk." Her laughter died as she saw the seriousness in his eyes. She swallowed hard. "But I could be wrong."

"Sam has nightmares sometimes. His come with visions of the future and killer headaches, but nightmares all the same," Dean explained. "So I know a little about them. I'm just saying, if you wanted to tell me about them, I'd listen."

Katie smiled shyly. "I appreciate it." She paused a minute. "It's just run-of-the-mill dreams. I'm tied up in the chair, Myers threatens me, but you don't come through the door and I don't get out."

He nodded his understanding. "They'll get fewer and further between. You're probably right, the whole thing going on here brought back what happened."

"I hope so, I can't live on three hours sleep a night. Even though I am catching up on my episodes of X-Files," she said, gesturing towards the television. Dean smirked.

"I always loved Scully." He turned back to the TV. "So smart and hot and repressed."

Katie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Repressed? That's a big word for 3:30."

"I'm a man of many talents," he bragged. She had about 50 responses to that, but absolutely none of them were appropriate for the middle night while lying on a bed with a guy. So instead, she went back to watching TV. And started to get sleepy again. Twice, she forced her eyes back open, not sure that she was up to chancing another nightmare. Plus, she wasn't quite sure it was a good idea to fall asleep with the extremely warm and attractive man next to her. Just as she was about to suggest that he return to his bed, his voice jerked her awake again.

"Stop waking yourself up. I'm not going anywhere." This offer was followed by Dean reaching back and grabbing a pillow. He dropped it in front of him and propped his head on it. "If you're anything like Sam, you'll sleep better knowing someone is nearby."

Katie opened her mouth to protest, really she did, but the idea of an undisturbed night of rest was too good to pass up. So instead, she snuggled down into her own pillow and yawned her answer. Dean smiled slightly at her, then lifted his hand and brushed a strand of hair from in front of her eyes. "Seriously, get some rest; I'm sending you out of a research job tomorrow."

"Yes sir," she answered sleepily. She closed her eyes and was soon asleep.

Dean waited a few minutes until her breathing was even, just as he had done for Sam for months after Jessica's death. This time was different, though. This was a girl, a girl that he could care about a great deal if he let himself. That weird feeling, the one that bothered him occasionally when he saw a father with a baby, came back in full force as he watched Katie. He clenched his jaw and started watching the TV again. He should have stayed in bed.


	6. Chapter 5

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: So, after a long break, I'm only giving you a very short update. I promise, the next chapter will be more involved in the mystery at hand. I apologize for taking so long to update; that's why I'm going ahead and posting this, because I do want people to know I'm working on it. And…I don't know about anyone else, but I think my Wal-Mart messed up, because I bought Supernatural Season 2 on DVD yesterday August 25, 2 weeks before it was supposed to be released. And let me tell you, I'm still on Cloud 9 because of it!! I hope you enjoy this little chapter, and again, there is action and adventure coming, I assure it. Let me know what you think!!

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Chapter 5

Normally, the entrance of someone else into the room by itself would have woken Dean. But with his late night conversation with Katie and an 8 hour drive the day before, his sleep was so deep, he didn't stir a bit. The intruder stared at Dean and Katie, laying side by side on the bed and cocked her head to the side, as if contemplating her next action. In that same vein, she nodded to herself then took three steps away from the bed. Grinning, Lilly launched herself from about two feet and landed smack in the middle of the sleeping couple. The mattress bounced under her attack and her giggles filled the room.

Dean jerked awake, his hand reaching under his pillow for his ever-present hunting knife, but came up empty. He blinked a couple times, realizing he wasn't in a hotel and he wasn't in the room he had originally been assigned. Katie, on the other hand, simply raised her head slowly from her pillow and muttered, "Lilly, that's enough with the jumping." Lilly slammed down on the bed and crossed her legs, sitting Indian style next to her aunt.

"Good morning, Aunt Katie. Good morning, Mr. Dean," she greeted them happily, still laughing. "I got ya'll!"

"You sure did, munchkin. What did you do that for?" Dean mumbled, not grumpily, rolling over and grabbing Lilly by the waist. She continued giggling, especially when Dean began to tickle her. Katie smiled at the pair, glad to see Lilly's hero was treating her the same as before. She met Dean's eyes as he wrestled with the little girl and she reminded herself to breathe. He was so gorgeous and being so sweet with Lilly that it tugged at her heartstrings. She understood the life Dean had been forced into and the choices he had made in that regard. But she couldn't help but think of how great a father he would be. It was a little sad to think it might never happen.

Dean saw the flash of sadness cross Katie's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. He was happy for the addition of Lilly in the room; that way they didn't have to discuss the fact that they had slept in the same bed for most of the night. Quite soundly, he might add. Lilly finally answered his question.

"Momma wanted me to come get Aunt Katie up for breakfast. I didn't know you were going to be in here," she said.

Dean and Katie exchanged quick glances. "Yeah, about that munchkin, how about that be our little secret?" Before Lilly had a chance to answer, a much deeper voice answered from the hallway.

"You're a little late on that one, big brother." Sam peeked his head in through the doorway, a huge grin on his face. Katie groaned in response and buried her head in the pillow. Lilly giggled at her aunt's action and bounced on the bed again.

To spare her any more embarrassment, Dean scooped Lilly up in his arms and started out of the room. "Let's go see about that breakfast, shall we?" He carried her through the door, using her swinging feet to hit Sam on their way by; Sam grunted, but didn't seem that angry. Katie could hear Lilly laughing all the way down the hall.

"Hey, it's no big deal, you know," Sam interrupted Katie's obvious attempt to disappear into the bed. "So, you slept in the same bed.

Katie rolled over enough that she could see him with one eye. He walked further into the room, already dressed for the day. "I know," she finally answered. "But it's still not exactly the smartest thing I've ever done. Especially with Lilly around."

Sam grinned at her as he headed towards the hallway. "No worries. I'm sure Dean will do something incredibly idiotic before the day is over and no one will remember." With that, he left. She quickly got out of bed and got dressed.

She was pulling her hair into a ponytail as she entered the dining room. Sam, Dean, Lilly and Alex were sitting around the table, eating the breakfast that Amanda was at the stove making. The disapproving look she received from her sister told her that the events of last night would be discussed later. A wave of guilt swept over her, followed closely by a slight twinge of anger. Nothing had happened except for her getting a good night's sleep for the first time in days. If her sister couldn't accept that, well, she would just have to deal with it. She accepted a plate filled with waffles and took a seat between Sam and Lilly. Alex and Sam made small talk while the two families finished the meal.

As soon as Lilly took her last bite, there was a knock on the door. The little girl jumped from her seat and rushed over to answer. "Hi Sophie!" every one heard her exclaim happily.

"Hi Lilly," came the much quieter response. Lilly came back into the dining room, and picked up the bag sitting on the extra chair. Sophie followed her into the room and smile shyly, mostly towards Sam.

"Morning Sophie," Amanda greeted the little girl. "Where are your folks?"

"Morning Miss Amanda. Mom and Dad and Jack are waiting in the car. They sent me in to get Lilly so that we can go to the pool. Is that alright?" the red-haired girl replied as she stood quietly in the doorway. Her eyes kept drifting back to Sam, her fascination with him still obvious. Amanda smiled kindly at Sophie and came around the corner.

"That's fine. Tell them we said hi. And Lilly's taking my cell phone if ya'll need anything." Sophie nodded.

"Yes ma'am. Are you ready Lilly?" Lilly's answer was running to the door. She called back over her shoulder,

"Bye Mom, Dad, Aunt Katie! Bye Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean!"

Sophie was slower to exit. "Bye. We'll see you later."

"Bye Sophie," Sam said waving at her as he did. Sophie gave him a shy smile as she backed out of the room. "Well, Dean," he said, "I think you've been replaced by the pool." His grin was infectious, causing Katie and Amanda to both laugh out loud.

Dean grunted as he removed his plate from the table, taking it to the sink. "Whatever. I'm irreplaceable," he muttered. This brought even more laughter from the girls, and even Alex joined in.

After everyone had finished breakfast, the Winchesters began discussing their plan for the day. "I'll go grab a quick shower, and then we'll head down to the office and pick up that map Alex talked about," Dean said to his brother. "We can check out at least one of the buildings today if not both of them."

"Are you sure you don't want someone else to go with you?" Amanda asked. "Lill'll be gone most of the day, so we're all free to help out."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. "Actually, if you don't mind, we do have a job for you," Sam stated. "It's not near as glamorous as hiking out in the woods, but it would really help us out." Alex and Amanda both nodded in agreement; Katie looked a little skeptical. "I tried to crack into the online county archives when we started working this case, but I had no luck whatsoever. If you could go into town, probably to the courthouse, and research what actually happened with Catherine and the other murders, that would be so helpful."

Amanda appeared borderline excited about their assignment and Alex even commented, "I bet it gets hard to separate truth from rumors in these types of things, doesn't it?"

Dean rose from his chair. "That's exactly right. If we get a handle on what really went down, we'll have a much better handle on how to deal with whatever is lurking out there." He headed towards the stairs, calling over his shoulder, "Give me 20 minutes Sam, and I'll be ready."

"What all do we need to find out?" Amanda asked, grabbing a notepad from next to the phone. Katie rolled her eyes at her overachieving sister. She considered herself fairly organized and intelligent, but she didn't hold a candle to Amanda in either of those departments. As Sam rattled off some of the details they would need to figure out the case, Amanda took notes, asking questions as she went. Katie got up and began clearing the dishes from the table. Alex followed her, carrying a couple of plates as he did.

"So," he said quietly, "do I need to have a talk with Dean about his intentions toward you?" Katie spun around, mouth dropped open in surprise at her brother-in-law's comment. "Cause I will if I need to." This statement was made with a huge grin on his face. Katie playfully punched him in the arm.

"There's no need for that yet, Dad," she answered sarcastically. "And you can reassure Mom out there," she continued, gesturing to Amanda with her head, "that nothing happened last night except sleeping. It all happened by accident."

Alex held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, you don't have to tell me. I accidentally fell asleep in your sister's bed plenty of times before we got married." Again, shocked by Alex's statement, Katie grabbed the closest dishtowel and flung it at him.

"Oh, shut up, Alex," she hissed, walking out of the kitchen as she did. His laughter followed her to the dining room. "Hey, I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll be ready to head into town," she told Amanda.

"Okay, we'll leave as soon as you're ready." Amanda waved the piece of paper she had been writing on at Katie. "We've got plenty of work to do."

Katie groaned in response. "Isn't this supposed to be a vacation?"


	7. Chapter 6

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: As promised, I'm putting out a longer, more involved update. And as I suspected, I did pick up the second season of Supernatural in a mistake by the store, so you'll have to excuse me if my updates aren't as quick as they should be—I've been busy watching! I hope you enjoy the update, and please, let me know what you think. I love reviews!!

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Chapter 6 

Thirty minutes later, Dean and Sam were hiking through the woods, heading north from the cabin rental office. Sam was carrying the map they had been given by the boy working the front desk which had Catherine's Shack and Catherine's House clearly marked. According to the information they had received from Mark (when he wasn't asking questions about Katie) it was approximately a fifteen-minute walk to the first stop on their trip. The path was well traveled, so it was relatively easy going. So much so that Sam put the map in his back pocket and concentrated more on the view. Even if they were going to hunt for a ghost, it was still a pretty walk.

"So, you wanna talk about it?" Sam asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Talk about what?" came Dean's response from three paces behind.

Sam threw a smug grin over his shoulder. "About that fact Lilly woke you up in Katie's bed this morning."

"Nope," the answer was barely more than a grunt.

"Seriously, all I get is a 'nope'?" Sam replied incredulously. "Cause we've got half a mile left and all I've got to do is talk."

"You'll be talking to yourself Sammy. You ain't getting anything out of me," Dean bit back.

Sam shrugged his broad shoulders. "Okay, then, I'll just have to ask Katie when we get back to the cabin. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to help me solve this mystery." He almost stumbled when Dean slugged him in the back. "What? If there's no story, then you've got nothing to worry about!" Sam paused in his walking and Dean strode on past him. When Dean realized Sam was still standing in the same spot, he rolled his eyes and turned back to face his brother.

"Nothing happened, alright. I went down stairs to get a drink; I saw that she was still awake. I went in to see if anything was wrong and I ended up staying and falling asleep. That's it. Nothing else happened. Now, can we drop it?" the older Winchester began walking again.

It took Sam three steps to catch up with him. It had been a long time since he had been able to give his brother grief about anything, and Sam wasn't about to give up this opportunity. "You were in bed with a girl and nothing happened? And you say I'm off my game," he prodded, with an affected shake of his head. The glare he received in response was filled with aggravation and frustration. And it made Sam laugh out loud. He got another slug on the arm for his trouble. As Dean marched on through the weeds, Sam heard him mutter,

"Bitch."

Sam grinned. "Jerk," he called after Dean, before he sprinted to close the gap between them. He knew better than to press his luck, especially when the subject was Katie, so he steered the topic back to the case. "So, you think this really is a ghost we're dealing with?"

Back on safe, not-involving-emotions ground, Dean became less grouchy. "I don't know yet, Sam, but it sure has all the signs. The thing I don't get is the timing. I mean, if this is Catherine doing this, she sure takes some really random vacations before attacking again."

"Hopefully Katie and Amanda will find something in the courthouse records. Maybe a sale of the land or something like that; anything would stir up a spirit."

Dean stopped in the middle of the trail and Sam almost walked into him. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to sell this jewel," he said, his voice filled with sarcasm. The boys had reached their first destination: Catherine's Shack.

Slowing his pace, Dean approached the building. It was aptly named a shack; half the boards on the porch were rotting and all the windows were gone. The roof had three gaping holes, and that was only the side they could see. Dean took a hesitant step on the first step, as if he were expecting his foot to plunge through to the ground. It didn't, and he continued to the front door, with Sam close behind him. Each was now brandishing a gun, filled with rock salt, and Dean was also carrying his EMF meter. As soon as they entered the structure, Sam pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. The sun was shining brightly outside, but with the fully leaved trees overhead, the interior of the shack was dark. He flashed the beam around the one room, illuminating dust, cobwebs and bugs.

"Charming," Dean deadpanned as he began a thorough exploration of the room. As he walked the perimeter of the room, scanning for any weird frequencies, Sam looked for anything that would show a sign of the living or not living beings they suspected had been here. He wasn't sure what he expected to find, especially since Katie had mentioned the police searching the building already, but it wouldn't hurt to look. As he did, he stated quietly,

"If the other stories I heard about this place are true, we'd better work fast. The couples that have gone missing always turn up dead in just a few days after they disappear."

Dean answered from the other side of the room. "I know. It would be nice to know for sure what we're dealing with so we'd know how much time we have left. And I'm not getting much a reading on anything in here," he finished, holding up the EMF meter to show Sam. It was barely flickering. "I mean, there might have been something here, but it's sure not here now."

"Yeah, I don't see anything that looks fresh here. It just looks like an old abandoned shack," Sam agreed.

"Let's check around outside, then head over to the other house. Maybe we'll find something else there," Dean suggested, heading out the door as he did.

* * *

Katie sneezed for the fiftieth time since they had arrived at the courthouse. Flipping through pages upon pages of newspaper clippings and deeds tended to stir up dust, considering most of it hadn't been touched in years. She and Amanda had received some strange looks when they had asked to see anything to do with the local legend, but the clerk had nevertheless lugged the books out to them with a smile. Amanda had gone to work establishing the identities of everyone involved in the original incident. Katie had been assigned gathering details on the deaths that had taken place since. She was working her way backwards, starting with the killings in 1991. She had probably made too many notes, she though to herself, but she didn't know what might be important and what was useless information. She had moved on to the case in 1959, which was eerily similar to the first one she had read about. In fact, it was almost identical; the only difference being that it was a married couple that had died in 1959. In 1991, the man and woman had been engaged. 

She was searching through old copies of the local newspaper, which had amazingly been started in 1880, after the backlash from the Civil War and finally died down. It was fairly easy going, since there were hardly ever any mysterious deaths reported around Pigeon Forge. It seemed to be a quiet, normal town. She was trudging through yet another binder of back issues, when a headline caught her eye. She glanced at the date and was startled that she had progressed enough to reach the 1895 September issue. "Couple found dead in abandoned cabin." Hearing Katie's voice made Amanda pause from her own reading.

"You found another one?" her sister asked. She stretched her neck, suddenly realizing she had been hunched over the book in front of her for an hour. She glanced over and saw Katie was skimming the article.

"Sounds like it. 1895, same shack, same type of crime. They don't come out and say that the girl killed the guy, then herself, but it sure hints around at it. According to this, it was ruled an 'accidental' death. And I don't think it was ever mentioned again, because I'm working backwards and hadn't seen any other article talking about it." Katie quickly jotted down the few facts that were given.

"So that brings the total up to three for sure, four if you count the couple now," Amanda stated. "That's beginning to sound less and less like a coincidence and more like an actual haunting." She paused as one of the workers walked by them. She lowered her voice as she continued, "So, you think it's really this Catherine girl killing these people?"

Katie shrugged. "I don't know what else it could be. I haven't seen any sign of anything else ever happening around here. Dean said a ghost is normally created by a violent death. And there haven't been any other violent deaths in the vicinity of those woods, especially one involving a couple." She re-read over her notes and something caught her eye. "Well, that settles one question at least. We've got one more day to find Taylor and Sandra."

"What, how do you know?" Amanda asked.

"Because all three couples have been found five days after they disappeared. Taylor and Sandra went missing on Friday. If it follows the pattern, they'll turn up in the shack tomorrow, dead."

Amanda frowned at this news. "Not exactly sunshine and rainbows, is it?" When Katie didn't answer, she added, "Well, I did discover that there really was a Catherine." This captured her sister's attention. "I found her death certificate and for the two people she killed. Catherine Rawlings killed Lucas Williams and Tabitha Reynolds on May 9, 1815. Their certificates show murder as the cause of death's, Catherine's is labeled as accident."

"A lot like the girl in 1895," Katie said, mostly to herself. "Okay, what else."

"Lucas had a brother, who got married and had a son, who got married and had a son. Five generations later, Andrew Williams was born. He is Lucas's great-great-great-great-great-great nephew."

Katie blinked. "Are you serious? There's still family members around with the same name?"

Amanda nodded. "Looks like. Every generation has had a son that had a son, so the name has been passed on." Her face lit up as she had an idea. "Hey, do you think he'll know anything about it?"

The younger girl bit her lip, deep in thought. "He might. I mean, think of how the story about Great-Great-Grandma Dixie saving her china from Sherman's soldiers was passed down in our family. And that's not really anything compared to having a member of the family killed by their fiancée." Katie took the piece of paper with the relative's name on it, then glanced around the room. She found what she was looking for and rose from her chair. Taking the paper with her, she sat down in front of a computer and initiated a web search. "Let's see if he's anywhere around here." She quickly typed in the name and clicked through a couple of screens before stopping

"Hmm," Amanda said over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Katie agreed, as they both read the results. Andrew Williams lived in Pigeon Forge and ran the local sports shop. The same local sport shop that the girls had walked by to get to the courthouse from their car.

"Should we?" Katie all but whispered.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I don't know, you're the oldest, you decide!"

"You're the one with prior ghost-busting experience!"

Katie sighed heavily. "Well," she began, "I think we can assume that he didn't have anything to do with the couple in 1959, since he wouldn't have been born yet. Or any before that, so the chances of us being in any real danger are slim. Don't you think?"

Amanda frowned. "I guess so." Then she nodded, "You're right, I don't see how anything could happen. And we could get more information, that would be worth it."

Katie grabbed her purse from the table behind her, pulling her phone out as she did. "Okay, call Alex and let him know where we are going."


	8. Chapter 7

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: It's update time!! I hope you enjoy it; we're getting further into the story now. And if you do like it, please let me know. Reviews will definitely make me work faster! I hope to have another update for this week, since I'm going on vacation starting next Saturday. Please let me know what you think!!

* * *

Chapter 7

Dean slapped absently at a bug that had landed on his arm, as he and Sam trudged through the woods. They had investigated the exterior of Catherine's Shack and had found absolutely nothing. No disturbed earth, no grave, no nothing. And though they were both convinced this was a ghost with which they were dealing, the trail was getting colder by the minute. Dean could tell Sam was starting to worry about the missing couple and he knew that meant unless they found them quick, he would subjected to a mopey, emo Sam pretty soon. And that was the last thing he wanted right now.

"Okay," Sam's voice interrupted his thoughts. "We should be getting to Catherine's house any minute now." He replaced the map in his pocket and pulled his gun out of the waistband of his pants. "Hopefully we'll find something," he added, half to himself this time.

"Who knows, maybe the worker bees at the courthouse found something out," Dean commented.

At this, Sam chuckled. "I doubt they would appreciate being called that. Although," he broke off long enough to brush aside a low-hanging limb from his path, "Amanda seemed kinda excited about helping out. Maybe she wouldn't mind so much."

Dean snorted in response. "If you mean she was fired up about researching, then I agree with you. I'm beginning to think she's as much of a closet geek as you are." As he finished speaking, the men stepped into a circular clearing. Sitting in the middle was a log cabin. The trees had been cleared from around it, which had been both good and bad for the building. There had been no chance for limbs or whole trees to fall on it, but there had no protection from the elements either. It was obviously abandoned, exactly like shack, and had seen better days. What would have been a nice house in the early 1800's now appeared to be a condemned shack. Sam and Dean both stood observing for a moment, before Dean prompted,

"Well, let's go see if Catherine's home."

The front door was still standing and was propped open, almost in an invitation. Sam went in first, gun raised, in case anything was hiding. Again, they were greeted with the musty smell of an empty room, complete with spider webs and plenty of dirt. They repeated the drill from before; Dean followed the walls in the room, looking for any sign of activity with his EMF meter. Sam searched the nooks and crannies of the shack, his eyes open for anything that appeared out of the ordinary. He entered the small room at the back of the house and checked out the walls. He was two seconds away from walking out of the room, when he noticed a small carving on the wall.

"Hey Dean, come check this out," he said. Dean did as he asked. When Dean was standing next to him, Sam pointed to a symbol carved on the wall. "Do you think that's been here since Catherine lived here?"

Dean stood closer to the symbol, frowning as he did. "I don't know; it looks pretty old."

"It looks really familiar," Sam took a closer look around the room, and noticed the symbol carved into the walls in several other places. He ran a finger over one, noting how smooth the edges were. "They don't look to be new. And they are all over the place in here." He held his camera phone up to one of the carvings and snapped a picture. "I'll look it up when we get back to the house, see if I can find anything about it."

Dean finished running the EMF scan around the cabin and sighed loudly. "I got nothing," he said, frustration beginning to set in. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed. "I'm going to see if Katie found out anything." When Sam raised his eyebrows and grinned, he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, you got it?" Katie asked her sister as they stood outside the shop. Amanda nodded, and then turned to wave at Alex, who had just pulled into a nearby parking space. When told of their plan to visit Andrew Williams, he had insisted they wait until he could accompany them. They had been rehearsing their cover story while they waited. Katie was about to fill Alex in, when her phone interrupted. She impatiently dug it out of her purse, then smiled slightly when she read the caller ID. "Hey," Katie said in greeting.

"Hey," Dean responded. "Did you find anything out?"

"Some," she answered. "Too much to tell over the phone. And we're about to go visit a relative, so hopefully we'll have any more by the time we're done."

"Relative? What are you talking about?" Dean asked, surprise evident in his voice. Sam frowned as he listened to one half of the conversation.

"We found out that one of the Catherine's original victim's distant relative still lives in town. He has a shop just down the street from the courthouse, so we're going to go talk to him; see if he knows anymore about what started this whole thing," Katie proudly related their plan.

"You're not serious Katie. You can't go question someone…" Dean's explanation was cut off by Katie's answer.

"There's no way we could be in danger, Dean, this stuff happened way before he was born. So unless we're dealing with generations of serial killers," Katie noticed that people were looking at her funny as they passed by them on the sidewalk, so she lowered her voice. "Then I think we're alright. Besides, we called Alex, and he's going with us, for protection and backup and blah, blah, blah."

Dean sighed into his phone, running a hand through his hair. "Katie, don't do anything unnecessary, alright? I don't want to put you or Amanda and Alex in any kind of danger."

Katie took a couple of steps away from her sister and brother-in-law and continued the conversation. "Dean, I promise, we're not doing anything stupid. Seriously, this guy is only 30. There's no way he could have anything to do with the first disappearances. And," she paused dramatically. "We've already worked out our cover story and have aliases to give him." She laughed slightly. "I've also wanted to be a Lola, and this is my chance."

Dean couldn't help but chuckle in return. "Okay. But seriously, Kate, be careful. If you get any indication that this guy is involved, you get out right immediately, alright?"

"Yes sir, will do," she finished. "We'll see you back at the house in a little while."

In Catherine's house, Dean flipped his phone shut. Sam waited patiently to hear what he had learned. Dean grinned at his brother and said, "You know, for someone who's never done this before, Katie sure is learning quick. She found out that one of the original victim's has a relative living here. She, Amanda and Alex are going to talk to him, see if they can get any more details."

Sam laughed, "You're kidding?"

"Nope," Dean answered. "She's turning into a regular Daphne."

Katie breathed in deeply to calm her nerves, before opening the door to Williams' Sports Shop. Amanda followed close behind, with Alex bringing up the rear. With more time to prepare than the last time she had to lie, she felt more confident in her ability. At least, that's what she was telling herself. Amanda had helped her rehearse so she hoped she had the story down. A bell jingled as she opened the door, much like the one hanging in the flower shop. An attractive man with blonde hair and blue eyes looked up from behind the counter when the three walked in.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"I hope so," Katie answered. "I'm looking for an Andrew Williams?"

"I'm Andrew," he said, his accent not quite as strong as Katie's, but still audible. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," she drawled, "I'm here with my sister and her husband on vacation before I go back to school at Vanderbilt next month. My name's Lola, by the way," she said, doing her best to be charming. "I'm getting my masters degree in sociology, and my thesis is about folklore and local legends. I heard that there was a ghost story that's been passed around for ages here and that you might know something about it."

Alex was surprised and impressed with how easily Katie had presented her false story, although he didn't have any idea where she had come up with the name Lola. He was further surprised when Andrew smiled even more and replied, "You want to hear about Catherine, don't you?"

Katie nodded quickly. "That is," she added, "if you don't mind talking about it. I understand you're a relative of the man that was originally involved?" Her tone of voice made it evident she wanted to hear the whole story.

The man sat back in his chair, and gestured for his visitors to do the same. "Well, if you've got half an hour, I can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the legend of Catherine's Shack."

An hour later, Dean and Sam stomped up the steps of the main cabin, trying to shake the dust and dirt from themselves before they went inside. Both men were hoping that Katie hadn't been exaggerating that she had information regarding what was going on. With their trip into the woods being less than helpful, the only chance they had of finding the missing couple was to figure out the mystery surrounding the original murders. Before Dean could open the door, it was thrown open by a beaming Katie.

"You will never believe all that we found out!" she exclaimed. She grabbed a shocked Dean by the arm and pulled him in the house. "C'mon, we've got a lot to tell you." Sam laughed to himself at the expression on Dean's face. This was going to be good.


	9. Chapter 8

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: Finally, an update!! If you're still with me, I apologize for taking so long to get another chapter up. Life hasn't been allowing me much free time lately. If you are still with me, please let me know what you think. Of course, I won't be expecting anything from 8 pm to 9 pm Central time tonight, as the premiere is tonight! I hope you enjoy the update; if you do, please hit the little review button at the bottom!

* * *

Chapter 8

Amanda and Alex were sitting on the couch, waiting as Katie practically drug Sam and Dean into the living room. As soon as they walked in, Amanda began, "I don't know how ya'll do this. I'm exhausted and I didn't even really do anything. Nancy Drew here did most of the talking. It's hard work getting people to tell you details of something without giving away the reason why."

While Amanda was speaking, Alex got up and walked into the kitchen. Dean heard the refrigerator door open and then shut. He came back in, carrying three beer bottles when he did. He handed one each to the brothers before reclaiming his seat next to his wife. Sam frowned at the bottle in his hand, then glanced up at Alex. The older man grinned and said, "Trust me, you're going to want that by the time she's finished. You might want to have a seat."

Sam took the chair next to Amanda as Dean let out a sigh and plopped down on the loveseat next to Katie. He opened his bottle, took a drink and said, "Okay, let's here it, Sherlock."

Katie drew her feet underneath and turned to face her audience. "We went to talk to Andrew Williams, who is, in fact, the great-great-some-more-greats-nephew of Lucas Williams. Lucas was engaged to Catherine Rawlings, but cheated on her with a girl that lived nearby. Catherine caught them in the act, stewed on it for a few days, and then killed them both when she caught them again. After she 'realized' what she had done, she killed herself with the same knife. All of this did happen in Catherine's Shack. It is the building that's marked on the map and it is the same building, hasn't been torn down, rebuilt or anything." She paused for a second, catching her breath.

Sam frowned again, surprised that Katie didn't have more to share. Other than last names, there hadn't been much added to the story he had read about on the Internet. Before he could ask any questions, Katie continued.

"Here's where it gets good. Catherine wasn't just your run-of-the-mill Laura Ingalls Wilder type of girl. She was a witch." Katie waited for a reaction to her news. She was rewarded by raised eyebrows and shocked expressions from both Winchesters. Proud of herself, she went on. "According to Andrew, the only reason Lucas was engaged to her was because of an agreement made between their parents when they were little kids; it didn't have anything to do with him. He was very much in love with the girl that she caught him with. Lucas was actually scared of Catherine, because she always acted so crazy and was talking about casting spells and that sort of thing."

"Wait a minute," Dean interrupted, "how does Andrew know all this? Did Lucas come back from the grave and tell his family or something?"

Katie shook her head in response. "No smart ass, but something just as good. He left his journal, which told everything that happened up until the day he died. Then after Catherine killed him, his younger brother Jeffery, Andrew's great-great-great-great-grandfather, wrote what happened so that the story wouldn't get lost in translation. I'm guessing this was the first murder by a crazy witch girl they had experienced."

"So, Catherine was the town Willow Rosenberg. Do you think that has something to do with all these disappearances?" Amanda asked, stealing a drink from her husband's beer.

"Who's Willow Rosenberg?" Sam asked confusedly.

"She was on Buffy," Katie, Amanda, Alex and Dean all answered together. Sam's eyebrows shot up and he threw a grin at his brother. Dean rolled his eyes and wished for that last comment back. He did not need Sam knowing that he had watched Buffy. So he steered the conversation back to the job.

"And it might have something to do with these couples getting killed. If Catherine was dipping into the dark magic, she could have possibly scared up something ugly," Dean commented. He paused thoughtfully for a minute, then asked, "I don't suppose that little Jeffrey included where Catherine was buried in that journal."

Katie frowned a little. "That's where the problem enters in. Andrew said that the people in town were so upset over the murders that they refused to let Catherine be buried in the cemetery. And Catherine's parents were so scared of the response from the townsfolk that they didn't mark her grave, for fear that someone would retaliate and do something." She glanced worriedly at Sam and then Dean.

Sam left out a sigh. "That makes salting and burning her bones a little tougher."

"They never do like to make it easy on us, do they?" Dean answered, finishing his beer. "Absolutely no mention of where she was buried?"

This time Amanda piped in. "According to Andrew, she was supposedly buried somewhere on her parents' property. But, at the time, her parents' owned 50 acres of land. Most of which is now covered in forest."

"And again, not marked," Katie pointed out. No one spoke for a minute, letting the two hunters absorb the new information. All of a sudden, Katie jumped off the couch. "I completely forgot, the most important part!" She jogged into the front hall, and retrieved something from her purse. "We figured out how long we have to find Taylor and Sandra." She handed a newspaper article to Sam.

He took a couple of minutes to skim over the article. "Oh shit," he muttered softly.

"My thoughts exactly," Katie said as she sat back down.

Sam passed the sheet of paper to Dean. Dean's lips moved slightly as he read the information. His shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair when he was finished. "Five days."

Amanda nodded. "It was the same on all the couples. We found four for sure, and Andrew told us about one during the Civil War, so five total. Well, six counting now."

Alex collected the empty bottles from the table and gestured to Sam and Dean, asking silently if they needed another. They both nodded. "So what are we going to do?" he asked as walked back from the kitchen.

"We," Dean said emphatically, "aren't going to do anything. Sam and I will go search around Catherine's house and try and find her grave. We have a day to find it and get rid of the spirit."

Sam was surprised to see Alex frown at this comment. "Now, that doesn't make sense," Alex protested. "If you have no idea where the grave is, you'd have a better chance of finding it if more people are looking. And since Catherine only goes after couples, as long as Amanda and I don't both go out there at the same time, everyone should be safe."

Dean and Sam were both shaking their heads before Alex had finished. "If Catherine was into magic, we have no idea what she's capable of," Sam explained, keeping his voice even. "It's possible if she feels threatened that she'll attack whoever is out there. And we don't want anything to happen to anyone else." Suddenly, Sam remembered the symbol they had found in Catherine's house. He flipped through the pictures on his phone until he found it. "Hey, Dean, where's Dad's journal?" he asked.

Dean gestured towards his room. "It's in my duffle bag. Why, you think that symbol is in there?"

"Maybe," Sam replied. "I know I've seen it somewhere before." He rose to his feet and headed to his brother's room, keeping his eyes his phone as he left.

Dean had been thankful that Sam had remembered the picture when he did. He hoped that the temporary distraction of Sam leaving would cause the others to forget the discussion they were having. He was absolutely wrong.

"Dean, I know that you and Sam are trying to protect us, and I understand that, but I don't want to sit here and do nothing to help," Katie said. He turned his head and met her gaze, dismayed to see a look of determination on her face. This wasn't going to be enjoyable.

"Listen," he said, sitting up straight and placing his drink on the table in front of him. "I know you want to help, and you have. You found all that information out today, and that was great. If it hadn't been for that, we wouldn't even know where to start. But as far as going out in the woods, I'm going to have to draw the line."

If Dean had been watching Amanda and Alex, instead of looking at Katie, he would have caught the glance that passed between them. Katie was a sensible girl, but when she felt she was right, it wasn't a good idea to order her around. But he didn't see that exchange; instead, he saw Katie's brown eyes flash before she answered.

"You expect us to just sit in here while ya'll go out there and tackle God knows what, with only a day left to find these people? I'm sorry Dean, I won't do that."

"Katie," his voice was growing a bit harsh, "this isn't up for debate. You're not going out there."

"That's just ridiculous! Alex and I can help look for her grave at least. And if we stay with ya'll, we'll be safe. I'm not just gonna wait around her and do nothing," she said. Her voice was soft and sad when she continued. "That's what I did the last time and it didn't turn out so well."

Before Dean could answer her latest argument, the front door flew open. "I'm home!" Lilly's cheerful shout rang through the house. Amanda and Alex both got up from the couch to greet their daughter, leaving Katie and Dean alone.

For a long moment, they stared at each other, neither willing to give up the fight. Finally, Dean broke the silence and turned away from her. "Katie, I got you in trouble before, I don't want it to happen again."

Katie's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. "You're not serious?" When Dean didn't respond, Katie began to understand how much Dean took on himself. "It was in no way your fault that Myers took me. That was all him. We're having this conversation right now because you and Sam saved me. How could you even think that it was your fault?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I wasn't there to stop it from happening."

"Hey," Katie said, a little more forcefully than before. When he still wouldn't face her, she placed her hand on his, giving him a squeeze. "Hey, do not do that to yourself. You're the only person who blames you for what happened. I promise. But Dean," saying his name again forced him to look at her. "After learning about what's out there, what ya'll fight every day, I can't just sit on the sidelines and not help when I know that I do something."

After a moment, Dean twisted his hand to where it was facing up, so that their palms were touching. With that simple move, the atmosphere in the room completely changed. Katie felt butterflies take flight in her stomach and her heart began to beat faster. Dean's eyes, which had been their normal hazel color, darkened and focused on her mouth. Katie's breath caught in her throat as Dean moved his hand up to her wrist, taking hold of it as he did. Gradually he began drawing her closer to him. She was mesmerized by the expression on his face and didn't put up one bit of a fight as she was pulled closer and closer to him.

"Aunt Katie, Mr. Dean!" Lilly bounced into the living room, interrupting the moment between the two adults. With a long-suffering sigh, Katie backed away from Dean, allowing room for Lilly to squeeze between them. She looked over her niece's brown head and was surprised to see a smile on Dean's face. Their eyes met again she knew without a doubt that the conversation/argument wasn't over.

"Hey, munchkin, did you have a good time at the pool?" Dean asked Lilly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He gave her pigtails a tug and was rewarded with a giggle and a grin.

"I sure did," she answered. "Sophie and I played Marco Polo all day long. It was great!" While Lilly chattered away to Katie about her day, Dean became lost in thought.

Katie had managed to pinpoint the biggest worry he had regarding 'civilians' getting involved in their investigations. When people other than Sam were helping, there were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong that he couldn't control. What made it that much worse in this case was that he was beginning to care about the people involved.

Which was the main problem. Feelings he shouldn't even be considering were sneaking up on him. And getting tangled up with a girl like Katie, no matter how sweet and cute she was, was the exact opposite of what needed to happen. He had to stay focused, had to keep the goal of finding the yellow-eyed demon and saving Sam his only concern. How he had let it get so far that he was about to kiss her, he didn't know. As Amanda called the group into the kitchen for dinner, he told himself that this couldn't happen. He needed to find this ghost, torch it, and get out, while the getting' was good.


	10. Chapter 9

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: As a further disclaimer, anything having to do with the supernatural elements of this story is completely and utterly made up. I know nothing about ghosts, witches, spells or anything else. And….thanks so much for the reviews! I'm trying hard to answer them individually, but if I missed you, I appreciate anyone that takes time out to read this and leave me note. They are like Halloween candy to my soul!!!

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Chapter 9

Sam was a little worried. They had gone up against a lot of stuff in their time, but not anything like this. He had never even heard of such a thing; a witch that was a ghost or a ghost that was a witch, whichever it was. He had been researching for a couple of hours now and hadn't found a single case that resembled this. He had flipped through their dad's journal before dinner and hadn't spotted the symbol on any of the pages. Now he was hitting all the usual websites, hoping to find anything that would help them. While he knew how to get rid of a spirit, the witch angle put a different spin on this, and he wanted to make sure they were approaching it the right way.

"Need any help?" Katie's question startled Sam out of his reverie. She pulled a chair over to the desk Sam had temporarily commandeered and sat next to him. "I'm an excellent page turner," she added with a teasing grin.

Sam smiled in return. He realized he had been doing that a lot since they had arrived. Katie and her family had a good affect on both him and his brother. It was nice to not worry about keeping their cover story straight around people. They could actually discuss their work and their problems in the house and not have to be concerned about anyone hearing something they shouldn't. Even with the uncertainty of this case, Sam hadn't felt this relaxed since before his dad died. "Well," he answered, "I don't think you'd be real interested in this stuff. It's pretty boring."

Katie shook her head. "This happened the last time, and I don't think it's fair. Dean's in there teaching Lilly classic rock, and you're stuck researching." She held out her hand. "So, consider me the hired help. Give me something to read."

When she didn't retract her hand, Sam laughed. "Okay, you asked for it." He reached over to a pile of dusty textbooks. He gave one to Katie, and then pulled up the picture he had downloaded to his computer for her inspection. "We're looking for this symbol. It was carved all over what we think was Catherine's room in her parents' house. I know I've seen it before, but I can't remember where. And I haven't been able to find it yet."

Katie nodded. "Meaning of the symbol. Gotcha." She opened the book, reading the title out loud as she did. "Sigils and Mythology of the Other Side. Wow, I bet you didn't pick this up at Barnes and Noble."

"It's amazing what you can find if you know where to look. Our friend Bobby gave us most of these a few months ago," he responded, going back to searching the website.

Katie flipped a few pages, skimming for anything that resembled what Sam had shown her. After a few minutes of silence, she was unable to keep her curiosity under wraps. She asked, "So you said a friend gave you this book. Does that mean he knows what ya'll do?"

"Yeah, he's a hunter too. He knew our dad he's been helping us out occasionally," Sam said rather absently as he scrolled down the page.

"There's more of you?" Katie questioned, sounding slightly shocked. When Sam threw her a confused look, she rephrased. "I mean, there are more hunters like ya'll around?"

Again, Sam felt relief at not having to lie about his and Dean's situation. "There are others, yes. More than we knew about, as it turns out. Our dad wasn't exactly forthcoming with loads of information."

Katie read a little bit more before speaking again. "If I'm being too nosey, you can tell me to shut up. I promise I won't be offended."

Sam smiled at her. "You're fine Katie. I don't mind."

Her next comment was much hesitant than the previous had been. "Dean said something last night about you having nightmares. Is that true?" She waited silently for his response.

Sam's eyes widened for a second. He was surprised that his brother had revealed as much information as he had about their family. He also didn't know how much more he wanted to share with Katie. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; but they had been burned before, if they believed Gordon. But he remembered Amanda mentioning Katie's nightmares after being kidnapped and realized why she was asking. He decided that talking about his problems wouldn't cause any more and might even help her. So he answered, "Yeah, I do have nightmares. But they aren't exactly typical; they sometimes end up coming true."

She tilted her head thoughtfully, then propped her chin on her palm, search for the symbol momentarily forgotten. "Seriously, your dreams have come true before?" her voice was a little more excited than it should have been. When Sam shook his head slightly, she added, "Oh, I guess that's not exactly a good thing."

"Not exactly," he said quietly. "Hence the term nightmare," he added, but giving her a little smile as he did.

She smiled back, blushing a little as she did. "I'm sorry. I'm still not used to all this ghost and spirit stuff. You probably think I'm a little off."

At this, Sam laughed out loud. "Are you kidding? Dean and I are practically the poster boys for weird."

"It's just," she continued, "I think it's amazing what ya'll are doing. I mean, you've basically given up normal lives to hunt down evil and save other people. There's no way I'd be brave enough to do what ya'll do. It's heroic." She bit her bottom lip and glanced back down at her book. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all mushy and girly on you."

Sam was a little surprised. Traveling from town to town, chasing down demons and ghosts had become such a big part of his every day life that he took it for granted. Even when he had left for Stanford, all the lessons his father had drilled into him since childhood had stayed with him. So much so that he had hidden weapons in his and Jessica's house, just in case something attacked. It was strange to hear how their job appeared to other people, especially in such glowing terms. He realized that Katie was probably waiting for a response, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Thanks. It's nice to hear that every once and awhile, instead of 'you must be crazy' or 'get the hell out of our house'."

She laughed. "Well, I said that the last time, so I'm trying something new."

The pair sat in silence for several minutes, only the sounds of turning pages, clicking mouse buttons and keyboard tapping breaking the quiet. Katie had drawn her feet up underneath her and worked her way through most of her text, when she suddenly frowned.

"Hey, Sam, can I see that symbol again?" she asked.

"Sure," he clicked over to the saved picture. "Did you find it?"

Katie looked back and forth between the book and the computer a couple of times before saying, "I think so. What do you think?" she handed the book back to Sam.

Sam studied it for a minute. "Looks like it. It says it's an amplifier symbol."

"Does that mean what it sounds like? It made whatever powers she had stronger?"

"Yeah. It would concentrate her power as well, if she was trying to do something big."

"Like a magnifying glass," Katie stated. Sam nodded.

"Exactly. And I know there was something about amplifier symbols in Dad's journal." His long arm reached over the top of the computer and snagged the leather bound book from the table. Having looked through it so many times, he pretty much had it memorized. He quickly flipped to the correct page, skimming the information he found there. "Oh shit," he said under his breath when he had finished.

"What?" Katie asked nervously. "I'm guessing that wasn't a good 'Oh shit,' was it?"

"This just got a lot more complicated," he sat John's journal back down and pulled out his cell phone. "Could you do me a favor and go get Dean?" he asked as he clicked through his phone book.

"Sure," she answered, unfolding herself from her chair. She walked out of the study and down the hall to the living room. She was greeted by a singing Lilly and a dancing Amanda. Alex and Dean were sitting on the couch, feet tapping and heads nodding to the Cream song playing on the stereo. Lilly waved at Katie as she bounced around her mom, which caused Dean to glance in her direction. She gestured for him, and he immediately got up and followed her.

"Sam needs you," she said, when he was close enough.

"Did you find something?" he asked, as they headed back to the study and Sam.

"Yeah, we found the symbol. It was in one of the books that Bobby gave ya'll. It's an amplifier. Sam also found something in your dad's journal about it. Whatever it was, Sam cussed, asked for you and grabbed his phone," she summarized.

"An amplifier?" Dean repeated, stunned. "I thought those were just a myth." They re-entered the room, where Sam was talking on the phone.

"Anything else?" Sam said. He nodded at Dean as they walked in. "Okay, Bobby, if you find anything, let us know. Thanks." He flipped his phone shut and turned to face his brother and Katie.

"What's up? Did Bobby know anything more about the symbol?" Dean asked.

"Nothing good. Amplifier symbols were used by witches to strengthen any spells they were working on. Specifically cloaking spells," Sam answered, his tone making it obvious this was very bad news. Katie stood by and listened to the two men.

"Cloaking?" Dean responded, disbelievingly. "You can't be serious. We've never run across any evidence that it's possible to hide a person in plain sight. It's an urban legend."

"Dean, if Catherine was delving this deep into the dark magic even going so far as to finding an amplifier, there's no telling how strong her spirit is. It definitely explains why no one can find these couples. Her ghost is cloaking them," Sam added, his words coming faster as he took hold of his theory.

Dean snorted. "Whatever, I'll believe it when I see someone appear in front of me when they weren't there before."

"Wait a minute," Katie interrupted. "You mean Catherine is hiding this people? How is that possible?"

Sam turned to Katie and offered an explanation. "If cloaking is real, she could be altering the scenery and hiding the couples. Could even be somewhere in plain sight. Probably somewhere near the shack."

Katie frowned at his answer. "If that's true, how will we find them?"

Dean shot a look at her when she said 'we.' Katie pointedly ignored him and turned her attention back to Sam. "Well," he said, "I called Bobby. He's trying to find a ritual to take away her powers. Which we'll need anyway, to make sure that she's not controlling Sandra when we find them."

"So, what now?" Katie asked.

Dean glanced outside. "Since it's getting dark, and we don't have the right ritual, we really can't do anything now." He paused for a moment then directed his next comment to Sam. "First thing tomorrow morning, we need to find Catherine's grave." Katie opened her mouth to add something, but he cut her off. "And by we, I mean me and Sam."

Katie's teeth clicked shut and she clenched her jaw. Refusing to meet Dean's gaze, she turned her head. Sam stifled a chuckle, knowing this was about to get ugly. Suddenly feeling like a third wheel and not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was about to go down, he said, "I guess there's not much more we can do here. I know we don't have a power stripping ritual anywhere in this stuff." He pocketed his cell phone, "I'm gonna grab a shower." He quickly exited the room; glad to not be involved in this fight.

Katie was still avoiding eye contact the older Winchester when Sam left the room. Part of her knew why Dean was so insistent that she and her family shouldn't get involved, but the other part of her, the part that had been kidnapped and forced to face the existence of flat-out evil, would not allow herself to sit idly by and do nothing. After having been thrust into a life-and-death situation, she had to help. Now all she had to do was convince Dean that she shouldn't be left out. And from the set of his jaw when she finally did look at him, it wasn't going to be easy.

Dean could see in her eyes that Katie was about to start arguing with him again. Before he could formulate his response, she grabbed his wrist and took off towards the back door. He followed behind her silently, confused as to where they were going and why. She flipped on the porch light as she opened the door and walked them outside. Once they were both through the door and it was shut again, she began.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I know that you don't want me helping you look because you're worried I could get hurt. I understand that." She saw that Dean was about to finish. "But Dean, I really think Alex and I can help, especially with the whole mystery grave location. Catherine only goes after couples, so we should be safe."

"Katie," Dean answered as calmly as he could. "We don't know what's going to happen out there. And with this whole amplifier thing, Catherine could be a lot more powerful than we originally thought. If someone is out there tramping through the woods, she could freak and go after them."

She nodded. "I thought about that, after Sam mentioned it earlier. If that was the case, and she would attack anyone in the woods, wouldn't the search-and-rescue teams have been in danger as well? And we haven't heard anything about any of them being hurt." The expression on Dean's face when she said that caused her to rush into her next point. "I'm not trying to argue with you, I promise. But after what happened before," Katie's voiced broke off a little.

Dean recognized that sound; she had made when she broke down after she had been kidnapped. Instinctively he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and he saw that her eyes had welled up, but she wasn't crying. She took a deep breath and continued. "After the whole Myers thing, I was terrified. I didn't want to be by myself; I didn't sleep; I was scared to leave the house, the whole nine yards. Dean, I can't go back to that. And if I help with this, I think it will go a long way to getting me back on track." She blinked a couple of times, ridding her eyes of tears. "Can you understand that?" she asked quietly.

Instead of answering her in words, Dean took her by the arm. He pulled gently and she took two shuffling steps towards him. He put his arms around her, drawing her into a hug. She laid her head on his chest and snuggled into his embrace. He propped his chin on top of her head and finally answered her. "I know Katie. I'm sorry darlin'," he murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry the whole thing happened."

"Don't be," came her response. "I don't necessarily understand it, but there's a reason why I'm supposed to know these thing exist. So there's no need to be sorry." She leaned away and looked up at him. "Besides, if Jacob hadn't shown up in Commerce, I would have never met ya'll." She returned to her comfortable resting place.

"Look where that got you," he snorted. "Kidnapped and threatened."

She slapped his arm playfully. "Don't say that. That's the good part of all this. That and I'm learning to be brave."

"You're brave," he answered, trying to lighten the moment. "You're out here in the dark with a wanted felon."

Katie giggled a little and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

As it had before, the tension between the two changed. Katie suddenly remembered whose arms were around her and whose chest she was leaning against. The butterflies that had calmed over the last couple hours took up flight again and her heart started to pound. She wasn't the only one affected.

"I'm a dangerous man sweetheart," Dean answered, his normally deep voice an octave lower than normal. "There's no telling what I'll do." The hand that was resting on her back slowly moved up to her neck. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't seem to stop his next move. He tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged gently, tilting her head back. Her brown eyes that had been teary moments before were filled with something completely different now. He dipped his head, closing the gap between them.

"I guess I'd better be careful," she whispered right before his lips brushed the corner of her mouth. She sighed softly; a sound Dean took as a positive response. This time he kissed her for real, lips moving confidently over hers.

Katie couldn't believe this was happening. She had pushed all the feelings Dean evoked in her to the back burner for so long that it was a shock that this had happened so quickly. Then she stopped thinking when Dean's lips coaxed hers open and his tongue swept into her mouth. In two seconds, the sweet gentle kiss turned hot and intense. Katie ran her hands through his hair, as he pulled her body flush with his. Just as Dean's hands began to move downward, they were interrupted by a darling, but unwelcome voice.

"Aunt Katie, Momma wants to talk to you!" Lilly shouted from inside the house. Reluctantly, Katie broke off their kiss. Dean groaned his disapproval, still holding her.

"I love that girl, but her timing is lousy," she said softly. Dean chuckled and gave her a quick, scorching kiss. She smiled at him, stepped away and walked to the door.

"Hey," he said before she went in, "we will continue this later." Her answering blush made him equal parts proud and expectant. She reentered the house, leaving him on the porch alone. He spun around slowly and stared out into the now dark woods, shaking his head at himself as he did. He had not intended for this to happen, but now that it had, he didn't necessarily want it to stop. He liked Katie and could like her a lot more if he allowed it. One thing at a time Dean, he thought. First trap the witch and save the civilians. He grinned. Then the hero would get to kiss the girl.


	11. Chapter 10

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: Here's a happy Thanksgiving present to the people who are still with me. I hope there are still some of you out there! If you're like it, kinda like it or hate it, please let me know. I love reviews!!

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Chapter 10

Lilly was nervous. She didn't know what exactly was going on, because the grown-ups kept sending her out of the room whenever they discussed 'it,' but she knew 'it' wasn't good. And although she loved having Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean around, she remembered what Mr. Sam had told her before. Their job was to protect people, to make sure that things like Jacob and people like Mr. Myers didn't hurt anyone. She was a smart girl, and she could put two and two together. Aunt Katie had called Mr. Dean because something was happening that was like what had happened to her. She still had bad dreams about Jacob every once and awhile, even though her mom had explained to her that Jacob had been trying to warn her and not hurt her. Her head knew that, but her heart was still a little scared of seeing another flickering boy one day.

It didn't calm her any that Mr. Sam had been on the phone for an hour last night. She had gone to say goodnight on her way to bed and had seen the paper he was writing on. To her, it had been filled with nonsense; none of the words had looked familiar. He paused in his conversation to someone named Bobby and given her a hug, but then had immediately returned to the phone and his notes.

So when everyone got up earlier than usual the next morning, Lilly had a feeling that something was planned for that day. Mom was hugging Dad a lot; even Aunt Katie wasn't quite as cheerful as she had been. Mr. Dean and Mr. Sam came downstairs carrying their bags, but she didn't think they were leaving. She shuffled out of her room, still in her pajamas and half asleep, and followed Mr. Sam into the living room. He dropped his bag next to the couch and went to the table, getting a map from it. Lilly walked beside Mr. Dean and tugged on his t-shirt. He glanced down at her and grinned.

"What are you doing up, munchkin?" he asked as he ruffled her hair.

"I heard ya'll talking. Where are you going?" she answered as she yawned.

He crouched down and explained in a quiet voice. "Well, Sam and me, your dad and Katie are going out into the woods to look for something. And we want to get an early start."

"Can I go with you?" she asked. "I like the woods, and I'm really good at finding things."

"Not this time Lilly," Dean said, brushing hair out her eyes as he did. "This is kind of a grown-up thing today. You need to stay here with your mom. I'm counting on you to have lunch ready when we get back." Lilly frowned in response, not at all pleased at the prospect of being left behind. "Sorry, sweetie, but you gotta stay here, alright?" Even though she was still frowning, she nodded in acceptance.

"You ready Dean?" Sam asked. He was standing near the door, bag over his shoulder. Dean tickled Lilly under the chin, getting a giggle out of her before he rose.

"Yep, ready. Are you sure you want to do this?" This question was directed at Katie and Alex, who were both waiting behind Sam. When they had both nodded yes, he turned to Amanda. "Okay, you've got to stay out of the woods, no matter what happens. With Alex out there with us, we can't risk you being there at the same time."

"Got it. I promise, I'll stay inside." Dean seemed satisfied with Amanda's response. He strapped on his backpack and headed towards the front door.

The four walked down the stairs in the early morning light. Sam had the map unfolded and was studying it and Alex had an identical one that he handed Dean. The older brother leaned close to Sam, reading over his shoulder. Katie leaned against one of the ATVs that Sam and Alex had rented from the main office the night before. After a moment, Sam said, "Okay, Alex and I are taking this path to the shack and starting our search from there towards the house. If something happens, this looks like the quickest and easiest way to get from the shack to Catherine's house." He moved his finger over a highlighted trail. "We'll have the ATVs, so if you need us, it'll be quicker for us to come to you." Dean nodded in agreement. "You've got the invocation from Bobby, right?"

Dean patted his back pocket. "Right here. We're going to have to work on your writing, Dr. Feelgood. I have a hard enough time with Latin."

"Bite me," Sam answered distractedly and without malice. He was digging through his bag, making sure he had everything he could possibly need. Bobby had been a huge help, coming through with the counterspell that would hopefully cancel out the amplifier symbol that Catherine's spirit was using for strength. Ideally, once they eliminated her main source of power, she wouldn't be able to possess anyone. If no one was possessed, they could then salt and burn Catherine's bones without fear of harming anyone human. Of course all of this hinged on being able to find the grave in time. Without running into Catherine herself or anyone possessed by her beforehand.

Sam and Alex climbed aboard the ATVs and started them. Katie gave her brother-in-law a weak smile. "You've got your cell phone, right?" he asked. She pulled it out of her pocket and showed him. "If any of us sees anything or finds the grave, we'll call."

"Alright, let's get to it," Sam said. "Good luck," he said to Dean and Katie before driving off. Alex followed close behind him.

Katie wiped her hands on her jeans and turned to Dean. "Okay, let's go." They were hiking to Catherine's house first and starting the search for the grave there. Amanda had added her insight the night before by guessing that if Catherine's parents had loved her enough to hide her grave from the townspeople, they loved her enough to want it close by as well. Sam and Dean had discussed later that it would be better for one of them to be at both places, both the shack and at the gravesite. Since the shack was where the murder/suicide was set to take place, they needed someone there as a last line of defense, in case Catherine was set to carry out her curse before they could destroy her remains. Neither of them wanted to think about that scenario, but they planned for it, just the same.

"You sure Katie?" Dean asked one more time. "Last chance to change your mind."

She shook her head determinedly. "No, I'm in. We've got to finish this before someone else gets killed."

Although Dean wasn't all that happy that Katie and Alex were helping, he understood the reasons behind it. And there was no sense being upset about something he couldn't change now. So, he grinned at her. "That's my girl." He picked up his bag. "Let's rock-n-roll." He headed off into the woods. They quickly picked up the path that led to the house and followed it.

Katie cast nervous looks around her as they hiked quickly, getting deeper into the woods. The sun was coming up, so they didn't have to use flashlights, but it was still dim under the trees. She kept one eye on Dean at all times, determined not to fall behind, no matter how scared she might be. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about this, but there was no other choice but to handle the situation this way. Catherine had to be stopped or more people would be killed.

They had been walking about twenty minutes when it started. At first, Katie thought it was just the wind picking up as the day began, but then she realized this wind was cool. The forecasted temperature for the day was right at 100, and there was no way a nice cool breeze would be blowing. "Um, Dean?" she said quietly, almost afraid to mention it.

"Yeah, I know. That's not good," he answered her question before she even asked it. He stopped in the middle of the path and opened his backpack. He pulled out a pistol, checking the chamber to ensure it was loaded. When he was satisfied, he looked at Katie. "Can you shoot?"

Katie blinked twice in shock. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of this possibility before, but it certainly hadn't occurred to her until now that she might need a gun. "Yeah, I can if I have to."

He handed her the pistol, the butt extended towards her. She accepted it gingerly, testing the weight as she did. Her dad had taught her to shoot mainly with a rifle, but she had been to the shooting range with him a few times. She wasn't a great shot, but she could hold her own if necessary. "That's loaded with rock salt," Dean explained. "It'll harm a ghost, but it won't kill a person. So if anyone comes at you, whether it's a witch or a human, you shoot first and ask questions later. Got it?" Katie nodded, slightly surprised in the change Dean's tone of voice. He sounded much more commanding now, like a field general ordering his troops. After handing Katie her weapon, he took a sawed-off shotgun out of his bag, checking it as he had hers. He shouldered his bag again and started hiking. This time, he walked slower, and Katie noticed he kept his gun level, prepared for anything.

The wind continued, cooling more the further into the woods they marched. Katie kept scanning the area around the path, searching for anything out of the ordinary. She had no idea what a ghost witch would look like, but she was keeping her eyes open. She was concentrating so hard on keeping her footing while paying attention to their surroundings that at first she didn't notice it. She slowed her pace even more, trailing five or six steps behind Dean. It happened again, and this time she heard it for sure. The wind was whispering to her, but she couldn't make out the words. If she strained to listen, it was gone completely, but if she didn't try, she could pick out a word or two.

Dean realized Katie wasn't right behind him anymore and stopped, turning to face her. When he saw the look of concern on her face, he asked, "What's wrong?"

She tilted her head to the side before answering. "You don't hear that?"

"Hear what?" Dean's question was laced with uneasiness. He cocked his gun out of habit and took a couple steps back towards Katie, who was acting a little strange. "Katie, what's wrong?"

She blinked a couple of times and shook her head, as if clearing her mind. "I could swear I heard someone whispering. I really hear them, you know, it just sounded like someone talking." She was still intent on trying to catch more of whatever it was, enough that she didn't notice Dean coming up next to her.

"Katie," he called, placing his free hand on her arm. "C'mon, let's keep moving. I don't like stopped out without cover."

She finally met his gaze. She could see he was a little worried, but more determined than anything else. "You think it's her?" she asked quietly, almost afraid of his answer.

"Probably. If you hear it again, ignore it." He pulled on her arm with enough force that she started moving again. Katie felt a momentary twinge of something, almost anger at him for bossing her around, but it was gone as quick as it came. Within five minutes of resuming their hike, they came upon the clearing.

Katie looked at the building in surprise. She had known the building would be in bad shape, but she was still shocked at how dilapidated it was. The porch steps were rotted, the roof had several holes in it and the front door was missing completely. As a matter of fact, Katie could see at least one beam had fallen from the ceiling and was balancing precariously against the floor. She was still searching around the property for anything odd when Dean issued his next order.

"Okay, start looking for anything that looks like a grave. A big rock, anything in the shape of a cross, just something that's out of place," he stated, as he marched off to one side of the house.

"I know what a grave looks like," Katie snapped. Half a second later, she slapped her head over her mouth, her eyes wide as Dean turned to stare at her. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I don't even know where that came from." He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Seriously, I didn't mean it."

After a pregnant pause, Dean answered, "Let's just get to work." He turned back and began searching the ground.

"Yes sir." Her sarcastic response forced him to pause. When he didn't turn to face her, he heard the rustle of leaves as she stalked to the other side of the house. He had a bad feeling about this.

They had planned on searching the grounds surrounding the house in circles, working their way further into the woods in a pattern. But with the stomping and muttering Dean could hear coming from Katie's direction, he sincerely doubted she was being very careful or very thorough. He was pretty sure he hadn't done or said anything to piss her off and he didn't believe their location where her anger started was a coincidence. Catherine's mojo must have been working on Katie, causing her to be mad, specifically at him. The quicker they found the grave, the better for everyone.

On the other side of the cabin, Katie was trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with her. She was irrationally angry and all of it was directed at Dean. It was the strangest thing, as if someone was placing thoughts in her head, thoughts she would have never had on her own. Even now, she was steamed that he was all telling her what to do; like she wasn't smart enough realize how important their task was. And she knew she had no right to be feeling this way. So instead of concentrating entirely on finding Catherine's grave, she was fighting her emotions.

"Kate," Dean called from around the house, "did you find anything?"

She counted to ten to keep from yelling her first response. "No, I haven't. But I think something's wrong with me."

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that," he answered. "Are you okay? Do you need to go back?"

Katie was about to tell him where he could put his 'concern' when a flash of movement inside the cabin caught her attention. She blinked, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. Then she saw it again. There was definitely someone moving around in the house. Hoping it was the missing couple and not a ghost, she shifted the pistol in her hand and walked towards the porch.

"Katie!" she heard Dean shouting her name as she climbed the stairs slowly, but she didn't stop. She stepped carefully into the cabin, looking around the main room as she did. Whoever had been stirring before was now still. "Katie, what the hell are you doing?" This time, his voice was much closer than before. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Dean had entered the cabin behind her.

"There's someone in here," she whispered, not quite sure why she felt it necessary to be quiet. "I saw them."

"Yeah, probably a psychotic ghost witch. We shouldn't be in…" he didn't get a chance to finish as blur of light swept through the room. It swept by them so fast that Katie's hair blew back from her face.

Katie and Dean stared at each other. "What the hell?" she breathed out.

"I think we're in trouble," Dean said as he gestured over Katie's shoulder. She turned and was met with the ghost of Catherine Rawlings.


	12. Chapter 11

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: I apologize profusely to those reading for the lack of updates. I just haven't felt the muse lately at all. But thanks to some nice reviews and the calming down of life after the holidays, I've finally had time to work. Please, if you're staying with me, drop me a note and let me know what you're thinking. Again, everything regarding the witch, spells and all that is completely made up and a figment of my overactive imagination.

Chapter 11

Katie was pretty sure that before her heart started pounding furiously, that it had stopped completely. If she could have focused long enough to open her mouth, she knew that she would scream louder than she ever had in her life, but she couldn't quite force her muscles to work. Standing right in front of was the scariest sight ever. A glowing, floating dead body. Just like with Jacob, she could see straight through Catherine to the wall behind her. She watched, stunned, as Catherine moved a little closer to her. As she did, Katie felt Dean take a step towards her and heard him shifting his weight as he brought his gun up. Katie knew that she should move or do something, but she was completely transfixed by the ghost in front of her. Then the whispering began again, this time in earnest.

"He's going to leave you. He doesn't care enough about you to stay. He's always looking for another girl. He's going to leave you," the comment rang through the cabin, much louder than in the woods. The voice was coming from the very walls, not necessarily from the ghost herself. The words repeated over and over again, becoming more insistent with each round.

"Kate," Dean hissed behind her. "Duck on the count of three." She managed to nod in response. "One. Two. Th…" his last word was cut off as Catherine flicked her wrist. Just as if she had physically struck him, Dean flew against the wall, crashing against the aging wood with a loud thud and a shout. Still Katie couldn't move. She watched as Catherine came even closer to her, now within touching distance. She heard Dean groan from the floor behind her.

"Katie, he's going to leave you. He deserves to be punished." This time it was Catherine speaking, since Katie could see her mouth moving. She felt the anger that started outside began to swell in her chest again. She slowly lifted her hand, cocking the pistol as she did. Catherine's eyes glowed brightly as she watched Katie's action. "Yes, that's it. End your suffering and your anger." Her hand continued its slow journey until she held the gun at chest-level.

Dean couldn't believe what he was seeing. The witch had gotten to Katie. She hadn't even flinched when the ghost had sent him flying into the wall, like she didn't even realize it had happened. He searched the ground around him until he found his shotgun. He could get a clean shot off from here, as long as Catherine didn't realize what he was doing. He began inching his hand towards his gun, keeping his eyes on the girl standing in the middle of the room. Luckily, Catherine was too involved in brain-washing Katie to notice his movements.

"He'll only hurt you in the end. He's not worth it." At Catherine's last comment, Katie blinked. Somewhere in her mind, a switch flipped. She wasn't going to stand here and listen to some hateful ghost witch badmouth Dean! He had saved her life and no telling how many other people's lives; if anyone was worth it, he was. All the rage that had been building in her cooled, leaving only the instruction Dean had given her as they hiked to the cabin. Katie glanced down at the gun in her hand, which was now aimed directly at Catherine.

"Not this time," she muttered, before pulling the trigger. The shot rang out in the cabin and rock salt pelted the ghost. Catherine screamed loudly before quickly fading out of sight. Katie blinked again. That had been remarkably anti-climatic. She lowered her pistol and turned to find Dean.

He was staring at her from his place against the wall, still lying where the witch had thrown her. After a second, he started to get to his feet. "It's about damn time. I thought you were going to let her talk you into shooting me."

Katie frowned as she walked over to him. Holding out her hand to help him up, she replied, "Yeah, sorry about that." He dusted himself off, and Katie bent down to retrieve his gun. She handed it to him, instantly even worse about what happened. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered quickly, as he scanned the room for any remaining signs of Catherine. When he saw none, he grabbed her wrist, tugging her to the door. "C'mon, let's get out of here and find that grave."

Katie followed him out the door and down the steps. "I'm sorry about the whole trance ting. I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"Well, it wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise to me either," Dean said, beginning to look for Catherine's grave again. He heard Katie's loud sigh and turned to face her. "Hey," he waited for her eyes to meet his. "I'm okay. You're okay. That's all that matters." She paused two seconds before nodding in agreement.

Katie made her way to the other side of the cabin to resume her abandoned search. As she turned the corner, she saw something that she would swear hadn't been there before. A storm cellar stood behind the cabin, its door facing her. Surely she would have noticed that, even if she had been steaming mad, thanks to Catherine. It looked just like the one at her grandparents' old house; a mound of dirt with a metal door leading inside. She took a step in the direction of the structure, then thought better of it.

"Hey Dean," she called, "do you remember a storm cellar being here before?"

"A what?" he responded, heading in the direction of her voice. He found her on the opposite side on the cabin, staring back behind the house. When she felt him come up beside her, she pointed.

"Storm cellar. I'm 99 sure that wasn't there before we went inside."

"Well, I'll be damned," Dean muttered. "I guess cloaking isn't a myth. You shooting her must have weakened her enough to put a kink in her spell." He carefully made his way to the door, shotgun in one hand, flashlight in the other. Katie started to follow him, but he waved her off. Trying not to repeat prior mistakes, she stopped her progress. He was impressed to see that she had her pistol raised and appeared ready to back him up if necessary. He threw the door open quickly, shining his flashlight down the steps as he did.

"Hello?" a weak, but decidedly male voice called out from underground. "Is anyone there?"

Katie's eyes widened as she realized they might have just found the missing couple. Temporarily ignoring Dean's silent order, she moved to join him at the door of the cellar, as he answered, "Taylor?"

"Yeah, I'm Taylor. Please tell me you're part of a search party." Dean and Katie could hear movement coming from inside the cellar. A few seconds later, a man in his late 20's, ashen face smeared with dirt, appeared in the glow cast by Dean's flashlight. He was tied up and the noise they had heard had obviously been him scooting across the floor to the ladder. He squinted up into the glare of the light and added, "If you aren't, just go ahead and shut that door again."

"We've been looking for you," Dean answered as he climbed down the stairs. He handed his flashlight to Katie, who kept the beam trained on Taylor. "I'm coming down to get you, alright?"

"Sounds great to me," he responded. "But be careful, I don't know if Sandra is still around or not."

Dean paused in his descent for a moment, and Katie reflexively glanced around outside the door for any movement. Dean continued down the stairs. "What do you mean, you don't know if Sandra is around? Isn't she with you?" He had reached the floor of the cellar and squatted down to untie Taylor's hands.

He shook his head, his voice weakening more as he spoke. "I know this is going to sound crazy, especially since we've been stuck out here for a few days, but something's wrong with Sandra. She's not herself."

"Well, buddy, I have no problem believing that," Dean said, taking hold of Taylor's arm and helping him to his feet. "Let me guess, she's been super pissed and violent."

"Yeah," Taylor agreed. "How did you know?"

Dean cast a glance up at Katie, who looked rather ashamed. "Let's just say I've seen a little bit of that myself. What happened to Sandra?"

As Taylor began to climb the ladder, with difficulty, he explained. "She was down here with me, threatening me, telling me that I wasn't worth it, when all of sudden, she kinda snapped out of whatever kind of spell she's under. She completely panicked and rushed out of here. She said she was going to get help, but I seriously doubt it."

Dean kept helping Taylor up the ladder, as Katie supervised from above. Suddenly, the sound of rustling leaves drew her attention from the rescue back towards the cabin. She spun around and was surprised to see a pretty young girl standing between her and the cabin, staring intently.

"Are you real?" the girl finally whispered. "You're not her, are you?"

"No, I'm not her. My name's Katie, I'm here to help you." Katie took a few steps in the girl's direction. "Are you Sandra?" She nodded. "My friend is helping your boyfriend out of the storm cellar right now, and then you're going to get ya'll out of here, alright?" Sandra nodded again. Katie continued moving closer to her. As she reached Sandra, Dean and Taylor emerged from the bunker.

"Taylor!" Sandra exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" the girl began to sob uncontrollably. Katie put her arm around her, offering support and comfort as best she could.

"Shhh, it's okay. Let's get you some water, and then we'll try and explain what's going on," Katie said softly.

"Sandra, are you…yourself?" Taylor asked softly.

The minute Taylor spoke to her, something changed in Sandra. Katie knew it first, felt the girl stiffen under the arm she had across her shoulders. Her head snapped up and Katie gasped out loud when she saw Sandra's eyes were now glowing bright green.

"I'm quite alright," she hissed loudly. "I'll be even better once I'm rid of you!" she shouted, flinging Katie away and sending her reeling. Before Dean could react, Sandra raced over to Taylor, grabbing his arm and jerking him away from Dean. As Katie slammed against a tree behind her, Sandra backhanded Dean with supernatural strength, throwing him onto the mound of dirt that made the storm cellar. "You can't stop me!" she yelled before taking off into the woods, leaving Katie and Dean on the forest floor.


	13. Chapter 12

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13—A little language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: I know, I know, it's been forever since I updated, but I do have a valid excuse. My computer is sick, and I'm posting from a friend's house right now (Thanks Jill!) I appreciate the reviews that I've gotten the last couple of weeks, I promise I'm reading them, I just don't have the ability to respond. Thanks so much for sticking with me; this will probably be wrapping up soon.

Chapter 12

Dean slowly forced himself to sit up, his back aching as he did. This was the second time in ten minutes that he had been slammed into something hard. Why did it always seem that every ghost, demon or poltergeist managed to hit him in the same place? Every once and awhile he checked in the mirror, just to make sure there wasn't a bulls-eye taped somewhere on his body. He shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness. Remembering the events that had occurred prior to his abrupt landing on the storm cellar, he shouted, "Kate!"

Katie took deep breaths, hoping to will away the pain in her shoulder. She had been thrown against the huge tree nearest the cabin, with enough force to knock the wind out of her temporarily. She heard Dean call for her, and opened her mouth to answer him, but all that came out was a groan. Slowly, so slowly that she wasn't sure she was moving, she began to prop herself up using the tree root next to her for leverage.

The choices for his next move warred in Dean's mind. He needed to make sure that Katie was alright, but he also had to warn Sam that danger was on its way. With a grunt, he got to his feet. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he said again, "Katie, are you okay?" He walked in the direction that Katie had been flung as he scrolled to Sam's number.

She saw Dean round the corner of the shack and managed a weak smile in his direction. He let out a huge sigh of relief that she was conscious and finished calling his brother.

"Dean, did you find the grave yet?" Sam's voice brought the major problem they were facing to the front of Dean's mind. He moved to stand in front of Katie before answering.

"No, but we found Catherine. Not to mention the missing couple." He glanced around the woods surrounding the cabin, hoping to see any sign of Taylor or Sandra. "Who are probably heading your direction right now."

"They got away?" Sam expressed his disbelief. "What happened?"

Dean sighed again, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Long story. Listen, Sandra's being possessed by Catherine; she's got some super mojo working for her. She threw both of us around pretty easily."

"Both of you? Is Katie alright?"

He glanced down at Katie, who seemed to be recovering and moving a little bit more. "Yeah, she's alright. So am I, thanks for asking." He paused for a minute, not wanting to relay the next bit of information. "Sam, you can't let…"

Dean didn't have to finish; Sam caught his implied message. "I know Dean. I won't let her in the shack with Taylor. We'll come up with something." As he reassured his brother, Sam searched the area around him, making sure that he and Alex weren't about to be surprised. "If you don't find the grave pretty quick, maybe we should do the counterspell anyway. At least that way we can make sure no one else dies."

Katie watched Dean's expression and knew that whatever Sam had said, he didn't like it. She got a stronger grip and managed to lean up off the tree. As she moved to try and stand, something on the tree trunk caught her eye.

It was a simple carving, not more than six inches long, of a cross. She brushed over it her finger tips, noting the smooth edges. Something clicked in her mind. Momentarily forgetting her hurt shoulder, she shifted to look around Dean, towards the cabin. Sure enough, the window of the west side of the building afforded a perfect view of this tree. She grinned. Amanda had been right; Catherine's parents did want to keep her near.

Dean was distracted from his argument with Sam by Katie waving at him. "Hold on, Sam." He tilted the phone away from his mouth before addressing her. "What's up?"

"I found it," she stated, pointing at the cross near her hand.

"It's okay Sam, Katie just found the grave. We'll call when we start the counterspell." He quickly hung up, not waiting on a response from his brother. Retracing his steps, he found his pack and brought it back to the tree. He unzipped it, removing a bottle of lighter fluid, a box of matches and a container of salt. He also unstrapped the shovel and held out his hand to Katie. "Up you go darlin', I've got some digging to do," he said, helping her off the ground.

Sam frowned at the now dead phone. He would have really liked to discuss more of a game plan with Dean before hanging up, but he guessed that option was out. All he could hope for now was that it took Sandra a few minutes to get to their location. He replaced his cell phone, and brought out a gun.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked from behind him. "Is Katie alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine Alex. They just found the grave. But we've got company coming." He pulled out another pistol, and handing it to Alex. "I hope you know how to use this."

Alex accepted it, immediately checking to see if it was loaded. "I'm a pretty good shot. But what good will these do?"

Sam explained as best he could. "They're loaded with rock salt, not bullets. Sandra and Taylor are on their way here. Sandra's still possessed. If they get there before Dean has time to do the separation spell…"

"We'll have to deal with a possessed woman, determined to kill her boyfriend," Alex finished. "What are we going to do?"

Sam glanced around them, taking in the surroundings. He really didn't want to have to resort to violence to keep Sandra/Catherine from hurting Taylor, but he was running out of options. If she was possessed by a demon, he could draw a quick devil's trap on the ground and immobilize her, but with a ghost, that wouldn't work. Suddenly his eyebrows shot up and he grinned. "I've got an idea." He took off his backpack and removed a box of salt. "How are you at trap setting?"

A few minutes later, Sam and Alex were both in place. Guessing that Sandra and Mark would approach from the direction of the cabin, Alex was hidden behind a boulder, gripping the remaining supply of salt in his hand. Sam was sitting on the steps of the shack, gun cocked and ready if necessary. Alex was also armed in case something went wrong. They both waited silently, ears straining to hear any type of warning of what was coming. It didn't take long. Leaves began to rustle and tree limbs cracked. It sounded like a wild animal was rushing to the clearing, instead of two people. Two minutes later, a young woman dragging a haggard looking man stepped out of the woods. Sam smiled grimly when he saw they were taking the exact path he had hoped.

Right on cue, Sam shouted, "Hey Catherine!" He made sure Alex was creeping out from his hiding place before continuing. "Over here, you witch!" Sandra dropped her hold on Taylor's arm and began moving towards him. Being bait wasn't his favorite part of this plan, but he didn't want to place Alex in unnecessary danger.

"You shouldn't be here," the girl hissed, her voice unnaturally raspy. Her eyes were glowing and the air around her crackled with evil. "I have work to do."

Alex quickly finished the circle of rock salt, moving as silently as he could. It didn't take long; Sam had already made three-fourths of it while they were waiting for the couple to appear. The plan was make Catherine/Sandra immobile until they got the all-clear sign from Katie and Dean. Which would be coming very shortly, they hoped. Alex and Sam both watched expectantly as Sandra neared the front of the circle, and Taylor, noticing her attention was elsewhere began moving towards Alex.

"I hate to break it to you Catherine, but we've got other plans," Sam taunted, wanting to move the possessed girl away from her boyfriend. She continued walking to him, then stopped as if she had hit a wall. Sam grinned. So far, so good.

Dean wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the shovel for a minute. It had only taken about ten minutes of digging for the shovel it hit against something that he knew wasn't rock. A few more shovelfuls and what was left of Catherine was revealed. Katie had been standing by, with lighter fluid in one hand and salt in the other, but had taken a giant step back when Dean had announced his discovery. She didn't want to look in the shallow grave, having never seen human remains and not necessarily wanting to start a trend. Dean climbed out of the hole, pulling the Latin incantation from his back pocket as he did.

"Okay, call Sam," he instructed Katie. "If Sandra and Taylor are somewhere around him, I want to make sure this separation spell works before we salt and burn her." She wrinkled her nose and the idea, but nodded in response. Dean began chanting words Katie didn't understand, she pulled Dean's phone from her pocket and dialed Sam's number.

Sam had his gun trained on the seething Sandra as he answered his phone. "Dean?" he asked expectantly. While this was working right now, he didn't know how long the salt circle would hold, since it had been made quickly and on top of leaves. He was hoping Dean and Katie were about finished.

"No, it's Katie. Dean's starting the spell now. Are Sandra and Taylor with ya'll? Is Alex okay?" Katie's questions were hurried and breathless.

"Everyone's okay for now," he replied. Taylor had snuck out of the salt circle while Sandra had been distracted by Sam and was now leaning wearily against the boulder. Alex was with him, but still had his gun leveled at the girl as well. "I'll let you know if something happens here."

"Alright, be careful," she answered. Dean continued with the Latin, and Katie kept the phone line open. He had about two phrases left when the wind began to howl around the cabin. Katie's hair flew up in her face, and Dean had trouble holding on to the sheet of paper from which he was reading. She threw a nervous look at Dean, who only shrugged his shoulders and kept going. "Sam, the wind picked up here real fast, is everything okay there?"

Sam cast a wary glance at the darkening sky directly above the circle and Sandra. Her eyes were glowing even brighter and her breathing was increasing. "Weather's getting bad. It's probably working." He had to raise his voice to be heard over the sudden rush of wind. He frowned as the gusts began disturbing the salt circle. "Is he almost done?"

Katie didn't have to answer. Just as Dean read the last word, Sandra gave an unearthly scream and her body jerked violently. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped forward. Right on the line of salt. In the place Sandra had abandoned, stood Catherine's now separate ghost. With the salt line, and therefore the barrier, broken, the spirit gave an evil laugh and tore back into the woods.

Sam raced down the steps of the shack to a still unmoving Sandra. "Katie, hurry and burn the remains. She's headed back to you," Sam shouted into his phone. He knelt next to the girl, checking for a pulse as he did. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one.

Katie sighed and clicked the phone shut. "I guess it worked. Sam said she's on her way back, and I'm guessing that's not a good thing." She straightened her shoulders and took a tentative step towards the grave. "What do I do?"

Dean picked up his discarded shotgun and searched the neighboring area as he gave Katie instructions. "Soak her in fluid, then pour in the salt. Toss in a match and watch the flames. I'll cover you." He cocked the gun as he said it. The previous wind conditions had died down, making the metallic click of the hammer on the gun the only sound in the clearing.

Closing her eyes as she did, Katie began squirting lighter fluid into the newly dug hole. Dean's slight chuckle forced her to open her eyes, wanting to know what in the world he found funny in this situation. "What?" she asked, a little snappily.

"You might try actually getting some of that on the bones. We aren't trying to burn the dirt around her," his voice was laced with contained laughter.

"Oh shut up," she muttered. It wasn't her fault that she'd never set fire to a corpse before. She was half-angry at him for laughing and half-embarrassed that she wasn't doing this properly. So, she forced herself to look down.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but this wasn't it. Considering it had been almost 200 hundred years since Catherine had died, she didn't really think there would be anything remotely humanizing left in the grave, but that was what she looked for first. Instead, all she saw were a few scattered bones and part of a skull. It was kind of sad. She was brought out of her reverie by Dean's throat clearing. She frowned and went back to work.

Soon, the bones were covered in fluid. She quickly doused the remains with salt as well, tossing the now empty box to the ground. Dean was still scouring the forest for any sign of the returning ghost. Katie fished the matches out of her pocket and removed a couple. Just as she struck the matches against the flint, the wind began rushing through the clearing again, this time even louder and with more strength. Any flame that Katie might have created was immediately extinguished.

"I'm guessing we're about to have company!" Dean's shout barely carried over the whistling of the air blowing by them. Katie glanced up from her work in time to see a greenish glow moving rapidly towards them. She feverishly started striking the matches again, praying that these would light. She saw Dean take a couple of steps in the direction of the light, his gun ready and waiting. Finally, just as Catherine broke through the woods and moved into the clearing, the matches took. Her heart pounding, she dropped them into the grave and instantly the fire spread. She looked up, in time to see Catherine stop suddenly roughly three feet in front of Dean. The ghost shrieked loudly, as if in pain, then her image began to waver and finally burst into flames. Two seconds later, all traces of the ghost had vanished.

Both Katie and Dean stood frozen for a minute, staring at the spot where Catherine had disappeared. A few tufts of grass in the surrounding area were on fire were the only sign of anything out of the ordinary, with exception of the fiery grave. Dean walked over and stamped them out. Katie was still holding his phone when it rang again.

"Hello?"

"Hey," came Sam's relieved response. "Did you get her?"

She looked down in at the flames lapping around the edges of the hole. The bones were beginning to turn gray as ash developed on them. "Yeah, we did," she said quietly. "I think it's over."


	14. Chapter 13

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: Just when you thought I'd abandoned you. I hope that those of you that have been reading haven't given up on me completely. I seem to have gotten some inspiration back, so I should be wrapping Catherine up pretty soon. And if anyone reading this is reading Rest Stop, I promise, I am working on it. There should be an update by next week at the latest. Thanks for sticking with me and let me know what you think!

Chapter 13

Sam took another sip of his beer, sighing heavily afterward. He should feel relieved; Catherine was gone, Taylor and Sandra were recovering in the hospital, and he and Dean were safe and sound. Overall, he knew everything was fine, but as he watched Katie toy with the napkin in her hand, he couldn't help but think something was wrong. Dean had mentioned how quiet she had been on the walk back the cabin, but that alone wasn't enough to worry him. After all, she had been through quite an ordeal that morning. Something just wasn't right. Sam had noticed more than once that when Dean would enter a room, Katie would find a reason to leave. She had gone into her room to take a nap when Lilly and Dean had started a foosball tournament after lunch, not responding to Dean's request for a rematch. And now at dinner, she had barely said two words and seemed distracted. Not to mention Sam was pretty sure she was working on her third glass of wine, more than he had seen her drink the entire time he had known her.

As if she knew she was causing concern, Katie got up from the table. "I'm gonna go out on the deck for a little while," she said quietly. She headed to the door and walked out, without waiting for a response. Amanda and Alex didn't appear to think this was odd, as they continued discussing the upcoming school year with Lilly. Sam saw the look of confusion on Dean's face and knew he had noticed Katie's behavior as well. Before his brother could make a move, Sam grabbed his beer and stood up.

"I think I'll go out with her. It's a nice night." If Katie was upset, she wasn't directing it at Sam currently, so he thought he would have a better chance getting an explanation. That and Dean wasn't exactly known for his tact or subtlety. He quickly followed Katie out the side door.

"Hey, Katie," Sam said as he stepped out on the deck. "Is everything okay?"

The answer was a noncommittal, "Everything's fine."

Not at all convinced, Sam walked over to where she was leaning on the rail. He propped himself up, as she had, and continued. "You sure? You've seemed kinda off since we got back from the woods."

"I'm fine Sam," she replied. "We got rid of Catherine, Taylor and Sandra are safe, what in the world could be wrong?"

Even with her accent and just slightly slurred speech, Sam didn't miss the huge amount of sarcasm in her voice. He watched quietly as she polished off her glass of wine. After a minute, he continued, "Well," he paused, trying to come up with the correct words for his next thought, "you've been doing a great job avoiding Dean all day. Did something happen out there that you wanna talk about?" he said, gesturing towards the dark woods beneath them. "I know it's not exactly a normal day for you."

She turned to face him, finally, frowning as she did. "He didn't tell you?" she asked, surprised.

Sam shook his head. "Just what happened with Catherine, not anything about you."

Katie sighed deeply and blinked a couple of times. Sam was expecting another deflection, possibly even an out-and-out denial, but was shocked by the rush of words that came instead.

"Dean probably thinks I'm in love with him." Sam didn't even have time to register her response before she carried on. "Which is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, I like him and he's incredibly hot, and a _great_ kisser and I'm so going to regret saying that in about two minutes, but I barely know him. There's no way I could be in love with him, right?" She waved her empty glass in front of her and added, "See, this is why I don't drink. I should really sit with my hand over my mouth after this much wine."

"Why would Dean think you," Sam choked on the word, "feel that way about him?"

"Because of what happened in the woods. The fact that Catherine could get to me. I mean, I yelled and snapped at Dean and then I stood there while she threw him into a wall. That was definitely not my shining moment."

"So Catherine decided to pick on you. That doesn't necessarily mean anything. You were the only girl in the woods," Sam countered.

Katie looked at him as if he were crazy. "Oh c'mon Sam! We all know how who she went after. Every girl that killed a guy and then herself out there was in love. Whether it was a boyfriend, or a fiancée or a husband, they were all in love. I'm sure it didn't take long for Dean to put 2 and 2 together and come up with me hearing wedding bells. Which I'd like to point out that I'm not."

Sam stood beside her silently for a moment, lost in thought. Katie knew that she had said way too much just now and was thoroughly ashamed by her confession. She was debating the merits of jumping off the balcony when Sam spoke again. "But it didn't work."

Normal-Katie probably would have known to what he was referring, but Had-Too-Many-Katie wasn't as quick. "What didn't work?"

"Catherine's trick. I mean, you might have gotten mad at Dean, which, happens to practically every person who meets him, but in the end, you shot the ghost. Her hold on you wasn't all that strong, or you couldn't have done that."

"And that should count for something?" Katie's question was quiet and shy, not at all like her earlier speech.

Sam nodded. "Of course. Like I said before, you were the only girl in the woods for her to go after. You were with a guy, so you were the most likely target. And even if there is anything to the whole feelings angle, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it!" Katie practically shrieked. Remembering where she was, she lowered her voice. "How am I not supposed to worry about it? I can't even look him in the eye right now, much less talk to him. I'm acting like a teenager with a crush; it's humiliating." She rolled her eyes as another thought came to her. "Not to mention that this will have to be discussed with Amanda, who won't rest until she finds out what's bothering me." She looked at her glass again. "I need another drink." She spun on her heel and opened the door, walking back into the house. Keeping her eyes on the kitchen, she ignored the strange looks she received from the dining room.

She was filling her glass again when Sam followed her into the kitchen. "Listen," he began, his voice little more than a whisper, "I wasn't trying to upset you."

Katie sighed for the third time in five minutes. "I know. I'm sorry I'm freaking out. I just don't know what to do."

"Like I told you, don't worry about it. It's not like Dean doesn't like you too, you know." Sam knew that when he replayed this conversation later, it would go on record as being one of the weirdest ever. "So you're a couple of people who like each other. That's it."

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really. Trust me, he's not going to read too much into this. And even though he's not Mr. Sensitive, you keep up with the darting eyes and not talking, he's going to know something's up." Sam claimed another beer from the refrigerator as he made this statement.

Katie studied him for a minute before asking, "So you're saying I should just ignore the whole Catherine mind control?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Before Katie had a chance to respond, the door to the kitchen swung open. Dean entered, carrying his empty bottle. He tossed it into the trash can and went to get another. Sam, seeing a good time to exit, gave Katie a smile and walked back into the dining room.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Dean said, after Sam had left the room. When Katie smiled at him and made eye contact for the first time in hours, he felt tension of which he hadn't been aware fade away. It didn't take a genius, or a college boy for that matter, to see that something had been bothering her most of the day, and he had a pretty good idea what it was.

"You weren't interrupting," she replied. "We were just talking."

"About how cool is was to burn up a ghost?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. He knew he had succeeded when Katie laughed at his statement.

"Something like that." She took a drink before continuing. Katie debated Sam's advice. Should she just let this go, if Dean didn't bring it up? After all, what would discussing Catherine's ability to get to her accomplish, other than causing her major embarrassment and possibly bringing about a rejection. If Dean didn't think it was a big deal, then she wouldn't either. She shook her head slightly to clear it, reminding herself of why she didn't do self-evaluation when she had been drinking.

"You okay?" Dean asked. Obviously her random head-shaking stunt hadn't gone unnoticed. She glanced at him, taking in his slightly concerned expression. She smiled at him again and answered,

"It's just been a really strange day."

He grinned at her, causing the butterflies in her stomach to take flight. "I don't know, it was a pretty average Wednesday for me."

It really wasn't fair that he could do that, Katie thought. That he could make her forget all her troubles and how crazy the last few days had been just by smiling at her. Men that looked like him shouldn't have that ability as well; it was like giving them a stacked deck. She was so lost in her musings that she didn't notice he had moved to stand next to her, until he put his hand over hers on the counter.

"Hey," he said quietly, "are we okay?"

She turned her hand over, slipping her fingers through his and giving his hand a squeeze. "We're good, Dean." She ducked her head shyly before saying, "I'm sorry about the yelling and all that."

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "That was nothing. Sam's worse than that when I leave my socks on the floor." He glanced down at their hands, but did nothing to move his. "So don't worry about that." She nodded in response. "Good, now that that's settled, it's about time I kicked your ass in that rematch you've been avoiding."

Katie laughed. "You're that anxious to get beat again, are you?" she said jokingly, shaking her head as she did. "I would have thought you learned your lesson the last time."

"See, after playing Lilly this afternoon, I realized how you managed to beat me," he answered, slowly pulling her into his arms. "You distracted me by being so pretty."

After being so concerned and nervous all day, Katie couldn't seem to stop giggling, especially since Dean was now practically hugging her. "Flattery will get you no where with me. I'm still going to hand you your butt." Her eyes twinkled and the wine continued to loosen her tongue. "No matter how nice said butt is."

Dean grinned before claiming a quick kiss from her. "Lilly!" he shouted back into the dining room. "Go fire up the foosball table!"


	15. Chapter 15

Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: And we come to the end.

Chapter 14

The moment Katie had been dreading happened the next day. While she was in the kitchen slicing tomatoes for the hamburgers Alex was grilling, she heard Dean's phone ring. She paused in her work and shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation. From what she could tell, an old friend of their dad's needed help. It sounded serious, involving a prison in Arkansas. Her conclusion was confirmed when Dean called Sam into another room for a talk. When they emerged, Sam wore a concerned look and Dean was frowning.

"Dean, this is possibly the worst plan you've ever had," Sam complained as they entered the dining room. Dean gave him a glare in response. "Seriously, there's no way this is going to work."

"And we're not talking about this now," Dean answered. He glanced into the kitchen and saw that Katie, Alex and Lilly were watching them. "We'll talk about it on the way."

"You're leaving?" Lilly's voice interrupted the brothers. Katie ran a soothing hand over her back. "But, Mr. Dean, you just got here."

"Lil," Alex replied for Dean, "you know that Sam and Dean have an important job to do. They have to go back to work. It's what they do."

Dean walked over to the little girl and knelt down in front of her. "I'm sorry munchkin, but your dad's right. We have a friend that needs our help, just like you Aunt Katie needed our help here. So now we have to go and figure out what's going on." When Lilly began to pout, he gathered her into a hug. "I know, I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed.

Sam looked at Katie, who was biting her bottom lip. He smiled at her sadly and patted Lilly on the head. "I'm gonna go pack." He headed out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs. After a minute, Dean separated from Lilly. With a quick glance at Katie, he followed his brother. Katie, who hadn't moved since Lilly had spoken, watched him leave.

"Kate, you okay?" Alex finally broke the silence.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She dropped a kiss on Lilly's head. "I'll be back in a minute, alright?" She left the kitchen and walked to Dean's room.

"So this is how it normally works?" Katie asked, as she stood in the doorway, watching Dean roll up his clothes and place them his bag. "You solve the mystery, burn the bones and then move on to the next one? No breaks, no vacations?"

Dean shrugged in response. "Pretty much, yeah. Evil doesn't really have any downtime." He continued packing, not really sure what else to say to her. This was why relationships were an all-around bad idea for Winchesters. It didn't matter how much he wanted to tell Katie that he'd see her again, there were no guarantees. He wouldn't wish his life on his worst enemy, much less a sweet girl like her. So this is where it had to end. And he had no idea how to tell her.

Katie took a step into his room, then stopped. Even though she hadn't been around him that much, she could recognize that he wasn't in a talking mood. She blinked hard and fast in an attempt to keep the tears out of her eyes. As glad as she was that Sam and Dean had came and rid the world of Catherine's ghost, watching them leave was going to hurt like hell. Trying to diffuse the unease of the situation, she finally said, "Thanks for coming and helping out."

He turned to face her, his normal cocky grin in place. "That's why I get paid the big bucks." She laughed a little at his response.

"So are ya'll leaving now?" she asked.

"Yeah, we need to make it to Arkansas as soon as possible. We'll probably drive through the night." He had returned to his packing, but he paused for a second. "Listen, Katie," he began. "I know that we kinda…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say to her.

"Dean," she interrupted, "it's okay." She moved further into the room to the opposite side of the bed, where she could see his face. "What you and Sam do is amazing…and brave and unbelievable and I know you have to go." She smiled. "I'm just a boring normal girl from Georgia and you're practically a superhero."

"Hey, you're not boring," he answered quickly, frowning. "Normal, I'll give you, but not boring."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining," she responded. "The stuff you deal with would completely freak me out. I'm glad to know that someone is out there battling it. It makes it easier to sleep at night."

Dean's frown disappeared. "Thanks Kate."

She shrugged. "I mean it. It's comforting to know you're on the job." She paused a minute and blinked. Dean waited for her to say something else, expecting her to ask when she'd see him again, but she didn't. Instead, she walked back towards the door. "I'll let you get back to packing."

Katie met Amanda as she headed back down the hall. Without saying a word, Amanda put her arms around her sister and hugged her. "I'm sorry Katie."

Fifteen minutes later, Sam, Dean and the entire family were standing outside next to the Impala. Sam hugged Lilly and then shook Alex's hand. "Thanks for the hospitality."

"No problem," Alex answered. "I know we said it before, but any time ya'll need a place to stay or anything, you're welcome at our house."

"Thanks, we appreciate it," Sam said. He wrapped an arm around Katie, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Try and stay out of trouble, alright?"

Katie buried her head in Sam's chest for a second, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. When she was sure she was calmed down enough, she answered. "I can't help that ghosts seem to follow me."

He laughed in response. "Well, give it a shot." After a quick hug with Amanda, he opened the passenger side of the car.

While Sam had been saying his goodbyes, Dean had started his as well. Lilly had been glued to his side since he had gone back downstairs after packing and now he picked her up. She kissed him on the cheek and said softly, "I'm going to miss you, Mr. Dean."

"I'll miss you too, munchkin," he replied. "You keep my number and if you ever need us, we'll come running, alright?" She nodded and hugged him tightly. When he finally put her down, she ran over to her mother for comfort.

"Thanks again for coming," Katie said quietly. Dean turned to face her and could see she was trying to not cry. He knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn't stop himself from pulling her into his arms.

"Any time, darlin'," he answered.

"Call every once and while, okay?" Her voice wavered slightly. "Or text and let me know you're alight."

"I will," he agreed, thankful that she hadn't asked for a greater commitment. "We'd better get going." She nodded against his shoulder and gave him one more squeeze before backing away. He winked at Lilly, who smiled sadly from her mom's arms, and then climbed in the car. With one last wave, the Winchesters pulled out of the driveway.

Katie wiped her eyes quickly and then smiled brightly at her family. "So, how about those burgers?"

Alex slung an arm around her shoulders. "You're a good kid, Katie," he told her as they climbed the stairs and entered the house.

Five miles down the road, Sam finally broke the silence in the car. "You okay?"

"Of course I am," Dean answered, a little too quickly. "And no, Samantha, I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright," his brother replied. He changed the subject to their next problem. "So we're actually considering going to prison?"

"What's the matter, Sammy, you afraid I'll trade you for smokes?"

* * *

Author's note: Well, I finally finished. I have to admit that I lost the drive to finish this story quite awhile back. I'm not completely satisfied with how it turned out; I feel I wrote Dean a little out of character, but with the way things went in Season 3, it got harder and harder for me to write this correctly. So I finally just sat down and finished. I hope you'll forgive me if it's not a good as some of my other work, that is if you think my other work is good. This is probably the last of Katie and Lilly and may be the last Supernatural work I do for awhile. I'm considering writing some original stuff in the coming months or possibly moving on to another 'fandom.' Thanks to everyone that has reviewed this story and kept with it through the months I took off. The support and kind words were appreciated.


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